Coming Back to Life
by Suni-Dlight
Summary: I am a scientest, a researcher. My life has been dedicated to understanding the mysterious of life . . . and sometimes even death. Who would of thought I would ever make a discovery like this!
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

**A/N: So new story! Just bear with me because this will include a slight AU take on the world of Harry Potter. Enjoy and Let me know what you think.**

**Four Years After the Battle of Hogwarts**

Christiana Anderson stood in front of the Veil that was such a mystery to those even in the Department of Mysteries. Of course they knew that this was the link between life and death, but how did it work? The young woman 'hmmd' to herself before walking slowly forward, sticking her quill into her strawberry-blond hair.

She sat down in front of the Veil, though not to close, putting her pad next to her and balancing the quick notes quill on the parchment.

"Veil doesn't look at all like I expected," she murmured, the quill writing down her words as she spoke. "It looks more like a plasma of some sort."

Christiana Anderson was the only one who had decided to pick up this project. She decided to ignore the fact that she was the youngest one in the department (only twenty, practically just fresh from Hogwarts), and that the older researchers talked about how foolish she was behind her back, saying that if they hadn't figured it out than how could she?

She'd show them all, she decided as she sat there now in her white lab coat and slacks. Christiana (never Christi, Chris, or Ana) pulled her hair up into a bun. She was more mature than that they thought her to be. She hadn't been a Ravenclaw for nothing.

She had been a six year and Prefect when Snape had taken over the school and had been among of the students who stayed behind to fight, ensuring that the younger children got to safety. After the war, she had gone back to repeat that botched year, going back as Head Girl and coming out top of her class, just as she had planned in the first place and passing all her N.E.W.T.S with 'O's'. Not really wanting to brag, but Christiana was a smart girl and was capable of doing whatever she put her mind to. She was used to being responsible, having cared for her sister, four years her junior, since she was eleven, after her parents died in a car accident (she was Muggleborn, obviously). If she could become a mother for her sister, than she could do anything. This Veil was no exception to that rule.

"No one seems to be able to figure out or understand exactly how to use the Veil," Christiana continued, getting to her feet now. "There have been reports of people who can hear voices when standing in this room. Sources tell me that, six years ago, during a battle in which Voldemort finally revealed himself in this very building, Sirius Black, then known killer but now proven innocent by Harry Potter, fell through this Veil, never reappearing afterwards."

Christina slowly walked towards the veil, moving around to the back. "There is nothing back here," she said loudly for her quick notes quill. "No wall, nothing concrete. The back of the Veil looks exactly the same as its front."

She moved to that front now. "So what can be said about the Veil? It is understood that this is the portal or link between life and death, a gateway of sorts. Once you have fallen through, you are trapped there forever, as is the case, possibly, for Sirius Black. What is the connection between the people who hear the voices? If one chooses to believe the theory of the gateway, it could be said that the magic here is the same in considering the Thestrals, who are only seen by those who have seen death."

Christiana had always been a practical and analytical girl, even as a child. When she had received her Hogwarts letter, she had practically laughed. Magic? As if there were such a thing. But receiving a visit from the illustrious Minerva McGonagall had drastically changed her mind (especially after seeing the woman transfigure herself into a cat).

Still. . . .

Now she could really consider things. If magic existed, then what else could she begin to understand? Could we truly use magic to understand and do anything? How then, did Time-Turners and Portkeys work? Could magic be used to understand space? What about life and death? What about thoughts and prophecies? What about love (though she didn't tend to research into that much)?

These were always considered strange questions to ask. When she tried asking some professor at Hogwarts (she couldn't remember their name) she had gotten a strange look and a very confident, 'It just _is_."

But of course she couldn't just except this. So she continued to ask and she was noticed by the Department of Mysteries and Olana Timblesdone, the Department Head, during her sixth year. Finally, people who understood her questions and were just as curious! Trying to figure out what made things tick, how to actually create a Time-Turner or what a portkey work, trying to understand the Mysteries behind it all, this Veil included.

Olana had faith in Christiana, something no one else seemed to have. Together, for the last month, they had worked on understanding the mystery behind the Veil and, any day now, they would have a breakthrough.

Of course, being a researcher meant that 'any day now' could be twenty or so years down the line.

When frustrated, Christiana often just wanted to accept what everyone else agreed too: 'It just is'. It seemed to make their lives easier, not knowing how it all worked, not really caring. But to give up this search meant giving up her lives work, giving up her only job, the only place she felt competent to work. She was no could as a teacher or Auror, and though she had training as a Healer, she was certain that this was were she belonged.

Standing in front of the Veil, she thought back to the ghosts of Hogwarts, knowing that they stayed behind because they weren't reading to move on. Did they come here when they were ready? "If the Veil is a gateway into the afterlife, why was it that people, those who were still alive, walked through and never came back? A gateway is supposed to work both ways. Why is it that the ghost or spirits have not tried to enter this world? Is there a way back or through and no one ever stopped to figure it out before trying to go to 'the other side'?"

The black curtain shimmered in front of her. Carefully, feet firmly placed on the ground, she lifted her hand. She grazed the entrance.

In explosion of voices hit her, some anguished, some happy, but still all loud and _there_. For a moment, Christiana stumbled, feeling a strange pull around her navel, like a portkey but she pulled back, falling to the ground behind her with a gasp.

She could only stare at the Veil a moment before she found her voice. "I was right. The Veil must be known as such for its translucent appearance, however it is not any sort of material."

Christiana stood, slightly shaky. She dusted off her coat, moving towards the object again. "There are strange markings along the solid parts of the Veil. This will take further examination."

She quickly grabbed up her quill and parchment, copying down everything she saw. She would take this home tonight and look up what the words meant.

She couldn't help but grin to herself as she hurried up to the tiers. If she could figure this out, all by herself, there was no way anyone would ever doubt her again! She'd show them that they were wrong about her after all.

Maybe . . .

Maybe she could even find her parents.

She entered into the Entrance Chamber, the walls spinning quickly. "Office!" she called out.

The room spun to a halt and she walked through the door in front of her to the hall of offices. Around her she could hear explosions and people at work, trying, just as she was, the mysterious they had chosen.

"Ana! What's up?" Elijah Whitmore, a handsome man of about twenty-three, shouted, grinning at her as she walked past his office. She cringed at the nickname, continuing to walk down the hallway. He stuck his head out the door. "Sure you won't help me with the latest?"

The latest, concerning Elijah, was something involving love potions. He, along with a few others in their department, were working on figuring out what exactly love was. They created the Amortentia and were steadily trying to find something stronger. The last person to try out the 'latest' was still in St. Mungo's, having gone completely and totally obsessed . . . With a plant.

"No thank you, Elijah," Christiana called back, hurrying on. "Busy on understanding the mysterious of Death."

Elijah sighed. "Always so serious, so morbid, dear Ana. What could be more important that the mysterious of love?"

"Staying out of St. Mungo's," she murmured.

Christiana quickly reached the door at the end of the hallway. She rapped a quick knock and entered upon hearing the brisk, 'Come in!'

Olana Timblesdone was busy scratching a way notes at her desk. Olana was a middle aged woman, dark-skinned with short gray hair and bright brown eyes. In more ways then one, she reminded Christiana of the strict Madam Hooch, with her brisk and no-nonsense attitude.

Olana was always busy. Not only was she overseeing Christiana's research, but also everyone else in the department. She supplied everyone with the materials and things they needed (this included money), and offered advice and additional research.

The older woman looked up with a quick smile. "Christiana, how goes everything?"

"As good as ever," Christiana replied sitting down in the chair opposite her boss with a heavy sigh. "Did you ever notice these symbols along the side?"

Olana took the notepad from her, studying what she had wrote down. "Why didn't we notice these before?"

"Not sure. Do you know what language it's in?"

"It looks Latin but not like any Latin I've ever seen. But -- wait no. This is Elven."

"Elf? Really?"

"Yes. Oh wow. It's been decades since anyone has truly spoken or read Elven language. It's a lost language, either way, among humans."

"Can you read it?"

"I've dabbled. I don't quite remember the exact meanings but I can give a go at the pronunciations. Let's see: _Uua' Tel' mori ar' uua' Tel' me'a, Tel' iaur im coia ar' gurtha. Kaimelar, gorga kai ar' maa iluve. Maa tel' val ar' sinta en' coia_."

"Hmm." Christiana looked up tentatively at her boss. "I happen to know someone who professes in languages. She isn't an Unspeakable but she is very dependable and I promise you she won't speak a word. If she does . . . Well, then I take full responsibility for her actions…."

Olana leaned back in her chair. "You promise she is reliable?"

"On everything."

"Very well. But Christiana, if she speaks --"

"She won't."

"See if you can't have this translation back within the next forty-eight hours, okay?"

Christiana nodded, grabbing up her notebook. "I won't let you down, boss."

With that she ran out the door. This was perfect. She couldn't wait to get to her source.

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**A/N: So new story :-D hope you guys like it so far! I think this will be a good one lol. Thanks all.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: Not mine:**

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The lift clanked to a stop at the gate to Christiana's loft. It was unlocked and, for a second, she panicked until she saw the disarray of robes, a bright pink trunk, and a purse strewn in the living room. "Julia," she mumurued, pulling the gate open. She locked it behind her.

"Julia!" She called louder, hanging her own bag on the back of a dining room chair. "Julia!"

Sighing angrily, Christiana moved to the back of the loft. It was then that she could here the music.

Julia, pretty, sixteen going on seventeen, and completely blond sat on her bed, headphones blaring as she painted her toe nails. She looked up, grinning when she saw her older sister. "Chrissy!" she yelled. "I thought you'd never get home! What's for dinner, I'm starving!"

"Turn it down," Christiana said, glaring at her sister.

"What!"

Sighing again, she walked forward, pressing the stop button on the Discman the headphones were connected too. Julia pulled the headphones off, frowning. "What'd you do that for? I could hear just fine!"

"Obviously not," Christiana argued. "You left the gate unlocked again. What if someone had snuck in here? You wouldn't have even heard them until it was too late."

Julia rolled her eyes. "Lighten up sis! No one is going to 'sneak in here and murdur me'. But what's up? What's for dinner?"

"For a skinny girl, you eat more than half the men I know."

Don't let the conversation fool you. The two Anderson sisters were very close; they were, after all, the only family either of them had left. They hardly looked like sisters though: Christiana with her strawberry blond hair and brown eyes, and short stature while Julia was completely blond with the almost typical blue eyes and taller than her sister. They one thing they shared in common was a pert little nose, something they had inherited from their mother.

When Christiana was eleven, Julia eight, their parents were involved in a horrible car accident (a truck had missed the red light, speeding through and crashing into her parents' small car). From then on, Christiana and Julia were shipped from foster home to foster home until the day Christiana got her Hogwarts' letter. It was then the two of them were moved into a nice wizarding couples' home, in order to be taken care of better. However, Christiana had always acted as a parent for her little sister. She had refused the seperation that was often the cause of siblings being but into foster home, the reason they had seen so many. Even when she was in Hogwarts, she wrote letters home to ensure that Julia was doing well and still stayed with the Hobbles.

Christiana had grown up real fast while Julia was enjoying her time being a teenager, just a little much (as far as Christiana knew, the sixteen-year-old was not only the most popular girl in the Gryffindor house, but also all of Hogwarts).

When Christiana turned seventeen, she used the money her parents had left for her and her sister to buy the loft they lived in now in London. It was actually really nice. Walking in from the lift the living room and small kitchen/dining room were in view. The furniture was old but comfortable with a small desk in the corner for Christiana's work and the electronics worked perfectly fine. Turning down a corridor to the left led to the two bedrooms and bath. Julia had been so excited to have her own bedroom for a change, to decorate and do with what she pleased (the bathroom however, was always a source of much argument between the two girls).

They made it work however, for them, and it would continue to work until Julia decided she was ready to move out. The girl was, after all, sixteen turning seventeen after this Christmas Break. This would be her last quarter.

"I swear, I don't know what William is going to do with you if you can't cook or clean up after yourself," Christiana said as the two girls move down the hallway. She stopped and picked up the strewn robes. "I mean really? Look at this mess."

Julia shrugged, plopping down on the old gray couch. "I can cook and clean just fine. I cooked for William in the Hogwarts' kitchen last week for our two year anniversary. Just . . . What's the need of me doing it here if you're just going to do it?"

Christiana looked down at the robes in her hands before sighing. "What do you want for dinner?"

The younger girl grinned. "There's the Chrissy I like."

"You of all people should know --"

"I know, I know, you don't like nicknames, Christiana. But I'm your sister, Chrissy so it doesn't matter what you do or don't like."

Christiana rolled her eyes going into the kitchen and pulling out the chicken she had taken out this morning. "Baked or fried?"

"Baked.."

"You could at least come toss the salad."

The teen sighed dramatically but she hopped up and into the kitchen, pulling lettuce and other vegetables from the fridge.

"How was the train ride home?" Christiana asked as she laid out aluminum foil in a pan.

Julia cut a tomato, putting the slice off to the side. "Eh . . . Eventful."

"How so?"

"So . . . William and I were talking about this summer. You know we were thinking of getting an apartment together."

"Yes you told me."

"Right, so I say that I'm looking forward to it and that I'm looking for a way to get money for my own apartment just in case I need to get away from William (I'm joking by the way). But then William gets real serious and he says 'Well, what if never need to get away' and I ask him 'what do you mean?' and he, er, asks me to marry him."

The piece of chicken Christiana had been holding feel into the pan with a plop. She looked to her sister who was blushing. "He what?"

"He purposed. Pulled out a ring and everything. And supposedly, he's already bought an apartment, got the money from his parents. He says he would love for me to move in with him this month."

"Oh . . . And what did you say?" Christiana asked. Her hands were shaking though, nervous about the answer.

"I told him that as far as marriage was concerned, he would have to wait but --"

"The apartment?"

"I told him that I would ask you first. That I would only be able to move with him this early if you said it was alright."

Christiana was silent. Sure, not a moment ago, she had been talking about Julia moving out but now that that moment was actually here, she didn't know what to do. It had been just her and her little sister together for so long now, she wasn't sure how she'd act without her. Of course, she knew that this moment would come. Julia was almost an adult and would be seventeen by the beginning of January. It may be time.

"I'm not going to tell you what to do," Christiana said, slowly. "But . . . You have my support for whatever you want to do. Just . . . Make the right choice for you, okay? I don't want you to do anything that you'll regret."

Julia squealed, throwing her arms around her sister's throat. "Oh thank you, thank you, thank you! Oh I have to write William right away! Is after Christmas okay? Oh, I'm going to go write him now!"

"Wait just a minute," Christiana said, slipping the chicken into the oven. "Sit down. Now."

The other girl pouted for a second before doing what she was told. Christiana sat down across from her, clasping her hands. "If you are going to do this, you have to promise me a few things."

"Oh of course."

"One: be careful. I don't want to know the underlines of your relationship with Will but, I just want you to _be careful_, safe. Get it?"

"Got it."

"Two: within the next couple of weeks that you're home, you have to find a job that you'll have for when you graduate Hogwarts. In no way, shape, or form will you have Will paying the rent every month. For now, his parents' money may be suitable but do not take for granted that it'll last forever."

"There's already an opening at the Ministry that I'm applying for. It should be in the bag."

"Last but not least: you have to promise me, that you'll write every once in a while or at least visit."

"Oh Chrissy." Julia reached across the table, placing her hand on top of her sisters. "That's definitely not the least. I couldn't not talk to you. You're my g_hirgrgh oprirniron_."

"What is that, troll?"

"Hey, you're catching on!"

"I'm assuming that's a good thing, what you just said."

"Oh definitely. It means I have a very high opinion of you."

The two girls smiled at each other for a moment before Christiana jumped. "That reminds me."

Christiana pulled the paperwork from her bag. "I need a favor, my little Linguist."

Julia reached for the paper but her sister pulled them back. "You have to promise me that you won't speak a word of this to anyone. Not even William."

"Oh!" Julia looked excited. "Is this secret super department stuff?"

Christiana rolled her eyes. She wondered briefly if it was a mistake that her sister knew where she worked even if she didn't know what she did. "Yes. I need you to translate this."

"Let me see! Let me see!" Julia ran her fingers across the strange notation. "Whoa. Elven. I definitely hadn't been expecting that."

"Can you translate it?"

"Sure! It's just gonna take me a minute. Maybe a day or two. But I can translate it no problem."

Christiana smiled. "You're the best."

She got up to check the chicken, not noticing her sister smiling serenely behind her back.

She could say the same thing about her wonderful big sister.

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**A/N: I hope you like. Sorry it took me so long to put up the second chapter. See you next time.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: not mine.**

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It had taken her a week to work up the courage to actually stand up in front of the Veil with her translated phrase. A whole seven days after the two that it took her younger sister to translate the symbols.

She felt so silly.

Of course, though, she had already built up excuses. She had to figure out exactly what the phrase meant. She would hate to step through the Veil and become stuck in the afterlife like others perhaps had been.

That would just suck.

At least Julia had a secure place she was going to in the next couple of weeks.

"December 7th," Christiana muttered to her quick notes quill (she had given the year in previous months). "Today is the day. Attempt number one. Today, I, Christiana Anderson, Head of the research of Death, will either figure out the mysteries of the Veil or . . . or disappear for all eternity. If, _if, _the latter happens, who ever finds these notes, please take them and figure out what might have went wrong. Also, tell Julia I love her and she should be well taken care of just in case. . . . Here goes nothing."

She unfolded the paper with her sister's neat writing. _Uua' Tel' mori ar' uua' Tel' me'a, Tel' iaur im coia ar' gurtha. Kaimelar, gorga kai ar' maa iluve. Maa tel' val ar' sinta en' coia_.

"_Into the dark and into the light_," Christiana began, "_the bridge between life and death. Dreamers, fear nothing and seek everything. Seek the power and knowledge of life_."

She stared at the Veil for a moment, frowning. "I don't suppose --"

Christiana gasped as the Veil seemed to darken, becoming nothing but a black hole into the middle of the room.

'_Into the dark_ . . .'

She shoved the piece of paper into her lab coat. "Here goes nothing," she said, softly.

Taking a deep breath, she settled her resolve.

She stepped into the dark. . . .

And was immediately surrounded by light.

'_Into the light_. . . .''

She was floating. . . .

Or at least that's what it seemed like.

There didn't seem to be any sort of floor or ceiling or walls, just . . . nothingness. It was almost as if she were in suspended animation.

She twisted around, really floating now as her body moved into a horizontal position. Christiana tried to move more, but it was almost as if she were in water.

"Hello!" she called out into the light, into the nothingness surrounding her. . . .

The voices started then, loud and clear . . . but there was no one there. Hands begin to grab at her hair, her arms, her lab coat and she screamed. "Get off! Get away from me!"

'_Dreamers, fear nothing_. . . .'

Christiana tried to calm down, tried not to struggle against the voices and the hands on her were crowding her.

'_Take us back_,' they said.

'_Take me with you_,' some cried.

'_I want to go home_.'

'_Please! Please take me with you!'_

'_Help me! Help me!'_

'. . . _and seek everything_.'

What was she seeking? She hadn't come in here to find anything, not at first, just to explore. In a way that was seeking wasn't it? She swam through the thicket of hands, kicking her feet, swinging her arms. Was she moving away from the entrance or was the entrance just a figment or was it everywhere. Was the Department's entrance the only entrance? Could she find other entrances?

Still moving was becoming tiresome and she would hate to get tired here. If she got tired, she might not be able to make it back. So what should she be seeking now?

_Sirius Black._

His name popped into her mind, unbidden just there. She felt then, someone grab her hand, painfully, with no intent of letting go.

Okay, she had definitely had enough of this.

But how to get back?

Her breathing quickened and she forced herself to calm back down, trying to remember the rest of the message.

'_Seek the power and knowledge of life_.'

Well what was that?

By the Department of Mysteries standards, that was love.

"I love Julia!" she shouted against the voices. "I have to get back to my baby sister! I need to be able to take care of her!"

The voices seemed to be dying down along with the hands that grabbed out her . . . except for the one holding relentlessly to her hand.

"I need to be with my sister!" Christiana shouted out again. "Please!"

Before she could say another word she was flying through the air. She screamed out, self consciously squeezing tighter onto the hand in hers. She opened her eyes to see her self flying towards one of the stone steps. Crying out again, she was finally able to let go of that other hand, flinging both arms up to cover her face.

CRUNCH!

Her wrist snapped underneath her weight and she rolled off the step. The pain was almost hardly noticeable though.

"Note to self," she said, through gritted teeth. "Figure out a way to exit the Veil safely."

_Exit._

She had _come back!_

"I did it," she muttered to herself. "I did it! I'm back! I –"

A moan interrupted her excitement and she froze, looking slowly over her shoulder.

She wasn't the only one to come back. . . .

The hand that had been in hers . . . .

_Who? Who had it been?_

Lying on the floor, unconscious maybe ten or fifteen feet from the Veil, was none other than Sirius Black.

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**A/N: Cue ominous music! Oh wow that was almost intense lol. I hope you guys liked it. Next chapter will up ASAP. Thanks everyone!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

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Christiana, after her wrist was easily fixed, checked Sirius Black's pulse.

Of course, everyone had been amazed and had wanted to hear her story and she her patient, but Olana had kicked them all out, shutting the door and ensuring privacy.

"Pulse is normal," she muttered. She knocked against his knee, his leg kicking. "Patient is responsive to outward stimuli. . . ."

Christiana grabbed her small flashlight, leaning forward to gently open his eyelid, she shined her light into his eye, his pupil dilating on contact. "Good."

Suddenly, Black's other eye opened wide, his hand coming up to grab her wrist in a tight hold . . . the wrist that had just gotten fixed. "Okay," she said, slowly. "Ouch. Er, Black –"

He sat up, pulling her closer and grabbing her shoulders. "Where am I? Where's Harry?"

"Harry?" Christiana asked, confused.

Black growled, he actually _growled_, jumping off the bed and pushing her backwards. Things were knocked over, clattering against the floor. He put his hand around her throat as he slammed her into the wall.

Ouch.

"Where am I?" he roared into her face.

"Department of Mysterious," Christiana gasped. How on earth was he so strong? Or was she just weak? "We're helping you."

"Where's Harry? What have you done with him?"

Instead of waiting for her answer, he let her drop to the floor, running for the door. Christiana coughed, struggling to her feet. "Patient is hostile, aggressive, and potentially dangerous."

She ran out the door. People were exiting offices now and Black shoved a lot of them out of the way.

"Black!" Christiana yelled. "Black! Oh, this is ridiculous."

She stopped running, pulling her wand from her pocket. "STUPEFY!" she yelled.

The Stunner hit Black in the center of his back, sending him to the ground. "Nothing to see here," Christiana said, trying to catch her breath as she walked towards her patient. "Back to work please."

She quickly levitated Black, and took him back to their room.

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"What is know of Sirius Black: Sirius Black, born April 5th, 1959, murdered June 17th 1996, was the last remaining heir of the House of Black, a once-notable pure-blood Wizarding family. He was born to Orion and Walburga Black, second cousins with a sibling named Regulus, who died, it is found, attempting to destroy one of the notorious Horcruxes in 1979.

"Black was a Gryffindor student, to the disdain of his family. At the age of sixteen, Black left his family and took refuge with Mr. James Potter and his family. Upon leaving school, Black fought against Lord Voldemort, soon joining the Order of the Phoenix, a secret organization created to stop Voldemort's tyranny.

"Known events: In, 1977, Potter and Black were involved a motorbike chase with two police. The chase, at first not completely serious, turned to the worse when they were attacked by three men on broomsticks, presumably followers of Voldemort. Potter and Black used magic to raise the police car that had been chasing them, causing their attackers to crash into it.

"On October 31, 1981, Black went to find On Halloween night 1981, Black went to Peter Pettigrew's hiding place and found him missing. There were no signs of a struggle, which caused Black to run to Godric's Hollow, home of the Potters, whom Pettigrew had been Secret Keeper . As history tells us, Harry Potter was the only one alive. Black then proceeded to track down Pettigrew, only then to be accused of murdering not only Pettigrew (leaving behind only a finger), but also twelve Muggles. Sirius was arrested by the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and was sentenced without trial to Azkaban, for the murders of Pettigrew and the twelve Muggles, for giving the information about the Potters' whereabouts which lead to their death and for being in the service of Lord Voldemort. He would spend twelve years in solitary confinement at the mercy of the Azkaban guards, the Dementors.

"Black's escape was legendary to say the least. In 1993, he became the first known person to ever escape from the wizard prison of Azkaban. Tragically, however, during a duel with his cousin Bellatrix Lestrange in this very department, Black was struck with a stunning spell, causing him to fall through the Veil in the Death Chamber to his death. Following the presentation of evidence as to the guilt of Peter Pettigrew for the betrayal of James and Lily Potter and the murders of innocent people, Black was posthumously exonerated.

"While in School: Black, as aforementioned, was a Gryffindor, friend to James Potter, deceased, Remus Lupin, Werewolf, deceased and Peter Pettigrew, deceased. Throughout school he was known for his intelligence and almost rebellious behavior. He is the god-father to Harry Potter."

"How do you know so much about me?" Christiana turned from her quick notes quill to find Sirius Black awake again, staring up at her from his bed. He was restrained now (of course) at his wrists and ankles.

Christiana couldn't help but stare at him for a moment. He didn't look at all how she pictured him or how last pictures of him had been. His black hair was almost lusciously black and his eyes were a vibrant gray, his skin taunt but just right on his face. His robes were the only thing lake luster about him. If she could be utterly honest, he looked not much older than her and, dare she say it, handsome. She looked back to her notes. "I've read a lot about you is all. You're in quite a few books."

"All that stuff you said then." He sounded young too. "Is it true? You said – you said all my friends were . . . dead."

"I'm afraid so." Didn't he know that all ready?

"But I don't understand. That doesn't make sense. James and Lily, they were the only two who died. _I _was going to kill Peter, yes, but I – I don't remember what happened. . . . How did I end up here? Where's Harry? He's only a baby, just one year old. He's not safe. You-Know-Who's trying to kill him. . . ."

Christiana was staring at him again, eyes wide. "Mr. Black. Just how old are you?"

He looked up at her with sad, innocent eyes. "Twenty-two."

What?

Christiana dropped everything, turning back to her quick notes pad. Born 1959, imprisoned 1981. That would make him twenty-two at the time. "Mr. Black, what all do you remember?"

"We – we were happy. Even in hiding. We were still happy because we had each other and we had Harry. But – but then Peter –"

The man – the young man, started crying, surprisingly, turning his head away from her as Christiana could do nothing but stare.

Sirius Black had – reversed in years.

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**A/N: Fascinating. Lol I hope you guys liked it. Thanks for reading and I'll see you next time. **


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

**A/N: First to answer xandromedax question: This story takes place four years after the final battle. Harry, born 1980, plus the seventeen years that he was at the battle, meaning it was 1997, meaning this story is set in 2001 :-D Blast from the past, no? Lol OKAY enjoy the story.**

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"Not a thing?"

"Not a thing after the year 1981. He still thinks Harry is a baby and he doesn't recall anything other than finding out that Peter Pettigrew was the spy."

"Amazing." Olana wrote down some more notes.

They sat in the Department Head's office, discussing. For the past week and a half, Christiana had taken Black through a number of tests and each one proved that he had physically and mentally reverted back to the age of twenty-two.

"Have you thought of any theories?" Olana asked.

Christiana shook her head. It was confusing, to say the least, considering he had been at least thirty-six when he had fallen through the Veil. They couldn't even contribute the reversal to how long he had been in the Veil. If that theory was correct, it would only be six years compared to the fourteen that he literally forgotten. "Unless," Christiana started, "well . . . Black continues to say that he remembers being happy before that Halloween night. Could it be – well, could it be that being in the Veil has reverted him back to when he was last the happiest? Technically, he was in the "afterlife". Most studies say that happiness resides there for some."

"Interesting," Olana muttered. "It's something to be looked into."

"So what do we do now? With Black, I mean."

Olana leaned back in her chair. "Well, seeing as how he's returned to the living, it would only make sense, I suppose, to incorporate him into it. Perhaps, we can re-introduce him to Harry Potter, who, in a way, is just as much Black's guardian as Black is his. We might have to change his name and create a history for him, but we wouldn't have to change much about his appearance. At this age, he's not recognizable as the man the world has come to know and most of the people who would recognize him are long gone. We'd have to erase his memory of this place before we send him to Mr. Potter."

"Of course."

The Chair tapped her fingers against her desk. "I feel that is our best option, Christiana, but first I want you to be the one to incorporate him."

"Wait – me?"

"Well of course."

"Why me?"

"You're the first person he saw when he woke up in this 'new world'. Think of it in a mother duck sense."

". . . . He tried to choke me!"

"But he talks to you now! Listen, the main reason is I trust you and I don't know about anyone else working with him right now. I give you full permission to do whatever you feel necessary to help him adjust in this era, comfortable enough to become independent in this new place and maybe recall everything up until he fell through the Veil. Didn't you say you're sister is moving out next week?"

"Yes, but –"

"Well take him home with you, out on the streets. There's no way he'll be able to adjust staying in the department."

"But, Olana –"

"Unless you _want_ me to give the case to someone else . . . ."

"Of course not! It's just – what am I to tell my sister?"

"You're a brilliant girl. I'm sure you'll figure something out."

* * *

Christiana sat at her desk in the lab, frustrated. Take him home. The reality of it! What would she look like with some random man in her house!

"What's wrong with you?"

Christiana looked over her shoulder at Black, who was watching her from his hospital like bed. "What are you talking about?'

"Well," Black said, laying back in his bed, "usually, you talk. A lot."

The girl bristled slightly. Who was supposed to be studying who? "I usually have notes for my Quick-Notes quill to write down."

"Today, you aren't writing notes?"

"No, today I am –" Angrily fuming at her boss for pushing her into such a ridiculous situation? Trying to figure out just how she was going to deal with an amnesiac in her house? Trying to figure out a way to _not_ have the amnesiac in her house? Trying to figure out, if she had to go along with it, how exactly was she supposed to help him 'adjust'? Oh what did it matter anyway? And why was she considering telling him? _She_ was the doctor. _He _was the patient. "Mr. Black can you tell me again what is the last thing you remember?"

"I've told you already. I went to go check Peter but when I saw he wasn't there I rushed to the Potters. The house was – destroyed and I saw Lily and James' bodies and then – then I woke up here. . . . Is Harry – is Harry gone too? Is he dead?"

Christiana shook her head. "Mr. Potter is alive and well."

"Mr. Potter?" Black chuckled softly, looking away from her. "You make him sound old. He's only one."

She stared at him sadly. She wondered what it was like, for all your memories to be gone though she supposed you wouldn't remember if they were gone. Though a lot of her memories were bad channels, she wouldn't wish them to just be gone.

_The phone ringing._

_Her babysitters devastated face as she dropped into a chair._

"So do you have more tests to run on me?" Black asked, shaking Christiana from her thoughts. "Or am I free to go? Am I alright?"

"Er, no," Christiana said, standing. "Well that is yes. Physically, you're healthy as a horse. Mentally, however – how should I put this – there is a gaping hole in your memories."

"A gaping – what are you talking about?"

"There's not a lot that I can't really explain to you but in all actuality, you are missing fourteen years of your life."

Black stared at her for a moment before he started to laugh. Christiana could only glare at him as he laughed so hard that he cried. She huffed. "Now I don't see what on earth is so funny!"

"Missing fourteen years!" Black said in his barking laugh. "That's priceless!"

"How so?"

"I remember everything from the time I was eight! Even before that! So what you're saying just doesn't make sense!"

Christiana sighed, shaking her head. "Mr. Black, for all extent and purposes, you are meant to be forty-two."

That shut him up. "What?" he asked after a stunned silence. "How?"

"You do remember that I've told you that you are a patient in the Department of Mysteries? Well that is one of the mysteries that we are wishing to solve. But for now, we have to work on getting your memories back."

Black was staring at her now. "I don't feel forty-two."

"I don't suppose you would."

"So Harry . . . how old is he?"

"Harry would be about a year younger than you . . . well, a year younger than you are now, twenty-one."

Again, the man fell silent, staring at the ground. "How do I get them back? My memories?"

"That's something I'm still working on." Christiana stood up, stuffing her notes into her bag. "But for now, at least you won't have to sit in here. You're coming with me. There are some robes for you to change into over there. The Department has already given me a stipend for new cloths and things for you, which we'll go buy tomorrow. Hurry up, it's getting late."

"But – where are we going?"

"My flat."

"What are we going to do until my memories come back?"

"Work on getting you adjusted to this time."

"Are we living in Muggle or Wizarding London?"

". . . . Do you always ask so many questions?"

Black gave her a very cocky grin, a drastic change from his previous mood. "I've lost fourteen years of my memory, remember? I'm bound to have a lot of questions."

Christiana glared at him. Smart mouthed, arrogant – "Just get dressed. Quickly, please."

She could have sworn she heard the man laugh as she turned to shove the rest of her papers into her briefcase.

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**A/N: Hope you guys liked it. Idk how I feel about this chapter but here you go. See you next time!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

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The lift shuttered to a halt and Christiana pulled open the gate. "This is it."

Black looked around, amazed. "You have a television and a microwave and all this Muggle stuff. My parents would flip if they knew I was here."

"I'll show you to you're room," Christiana said, leading the way down the hallway. "It isn't much but it's a place to stay until we figure something else out. That's the bathroom at the end. My room's on the left and here is yours."

Black pushed open the door to the now empty room. For four years, this had been her sister's 'space' and now she was gone. The emptiness of it all was strange.

"Oh wow, this is nice," Black said, entering the room and getting on the bed. He bounced a little before looking up at Christiana and smiling. "Thanks, Chris."

She couldn't help it. She visibly cringed. "Christiana. I'm going to go make dinner. Feel free to relax."

She hurried into the kitchen, not sure what she was going to make for dinner. Lasagna sound nice. Oh, but she had forgotten so quickly that she had a house guest. "Are you allergic to anything, Mr. Black?"

"Sirius." Christiana spun around, surprised to find Black now in the living room, looking at the blank T.V. set. He grinned at her. "And no, I'll eat anything. How old are you Chris?"

"Christiana. I'm twenty."

When she didn't get any response, she turned around to see Black staring at her in surprise. "You're only twenty?"

"Yes. Why?"

"You just seem so . . . mature."

"Thank you." Christiana turned back to her preparations, not seeing Black shake his head. "You're free to turn on the T.V."

"Are you sure you want me here?" Black asked. "I mean don't you have some sort of party or something to go to? What about your boyfriend?"

"No. I don't party. Besides, I've been tasked with the duty of helping you to adjust. It's my job."

Black snorted, plopping down on the couch. "Like that should stop you."

"I take my job very seriously, Mr. Black. And I don't have a boyfriend."

"Sirius and I find that hard to believe."

"How so?"

"Well, you're absolutely beautiful."

The noodle Christiana had prepared to layer in the pan fell to the floor. When she looked to man on the sofa he was grinning in a sly but equally not condescending sort of way, as if he actually meant it. Christiana had never thought herself pretty, not like Julia, who was gorgeous. She wasn't curvy or voluptuous but she had a nice shape and looked a lot like their mother with her wavy blond hair and blue eyes. Christiana, on the other hand, looked more like her dad. She always thought she was straight like a board though Julia said other wise, her eyes simply brown like his, and her hair was only that pretty strawberry blond color because dad's was slightly red. She couldn't do a thing with either. It didn't curl, it didn't straighten so she always kept it back in this incredible poof. When she looked in the mirror in the morning, she most certainly didn't see beautiful.

When she realized he was still grinning at her, she found herself blushing (pale pink patches on both her cheeks) before she turned back to what she had been doing. Ridiculous. Utterly and absolutely ridiculous was what she was doing, acting like a little school girl.

Behind her, Black sighed. Had he been expecting more? "So what are we going to do while I'm here?"

"Try and revive your memories," Christiana said, glad to be going back to a subject she was more comfortable with. "I figure we start where you left off that Halloween night and work our way up from there. Meanwhile, we have to get you adjusted."

"How?"

"By getting you cloths and things first off, maybe looking for an apartment and some mood of transportation."

"What about Grimmuald Place? And my bike?"

"You left to Harry everything when you – well." Christiana left off there and Black was silent. He knew he had died, Christiana thought, he had too. It must be buried with all those other memories he was inadvertently suppressing.

"What if my memories don't return?" Black asked in a small voice.

Christiana looked back to Black again, to see him absently picking at a loose thread on her sofa. She was discovering that there were many different sides to Black. There was the seemingly arrogant side, where it was as if he possessed the world in his hands but then there was this side, the side that was scared of that same world, a world he didn't recognize or remember. . . . This wasn't to say that many people didn't have different sides, but Black's were so extreme – it was sad really.

"Well," Christiana said, "we'll just have to make sure that doesn't happen. . . . Dinner should be ready in an hour or so, Mr. Black. Sorry it's so late."

"Sirius and it's fine." Christiana nodded before going to sit at her desk, taking out her paperwork. "Do you ever just relax Chris?"

"Christiana. I've just had a lot of work, is all," Christiana said. "Obviously," she added, indicating him.

"Yeah, I guess you would," Black said. He threw his legs over the back of the couch so that he was lying upside down. Christiana was about to protest but she stopped herself simply shaking her head and going back to her paperwork. "Did I ever, you know, apologize for choking you? That first day?"

"I seem to recall you did during one of the first tests and I've told you that there was no harm done." Even though that had been one of the excuses for why he _shouldn't_ stay in her house.

". . . . You had a bruise on your neck."

"It went away quickly enough."

"Well, I'm sorry anyway." He fell silent again. Christiana, feeling slightly nervous with this strange man in her house, put down her quill and turned to find him staring at her. He smiled in his upside down position. "I guess I'm kind of glad it was you I woke up too. Anyone other than that pretty face would have probably scared me. I'm really glad it was you Chris."

Christiana cringed, shaking her head. "Christiana," she muttered as she turned back to her desk.

* * *

The next day, Christiana took Black first to Diagon Alley, which he was glad to see. It didn't bring back any memories, according to him, but he had fun, running into the shops that he recalled from before. "We all, the Marauders (that is James, Remus, Peter, and I) used to meet up at the ice cream parlor and get our school supplies."

Just like Olana had said, no one recognized Black for who he was and they moved through Diagon Alley unnoticed. They bought him five new robe sets of his choosing from Madam Malkin's before moving into Muggle London. "I live with Muggles and that's where you'll be spending a lot of time. It's best if you had Muggle clothes to blend in with."

"I've worn Muggle clothes before," Black said as they entered the shop. He grinned. "I used to do it to bug my parents."

Because he knew what he was doing, Christiana left him alone in the Men's section with a cart, just hoping that he didn't find something weird. At least she had the money. Anything she didn't like, she didn't have to pay for. She wandered around to the Woman's section, shifting through the skirts. She would never wear something like this, she thought pulling a red flowing skirt off the rack. Holding it up to her body she realized this thing would probably stop at her mid-thigh.

"I think it would look nice on you," Black said, very close to her ear. She screamed, jumping and spinning around on him. People in the store looked in their direction and Christiana ducked down.

"Why would you do that?" she hissed. "You scared the living daylights out of me!"

Black laughed. "I'm sorry. I didn't know you startled so easily."

"What are you doing anyway?" She asked, straightening up.

"I've found most everything I want. They're all the right size too." He gestured to the cart behind him and Christiana found that it was indeed full of clothes. Eyeing him warily, she looked through the basket, seeing undergarments (which she hadn't really wanted to see), button-ups, t-shirts, jeans, trainers, a jumper or two, and decent slacks.

And a pair of leather pants.

She pulled them out of the basket. "No."

"Aww, come on Chris. Those are great!"

"Christiana." Shaking her head she walked back to the Men's section, laying them down on a nearby rack. When she turned, Black was behind her with his cart and the red skirt. "I'm not getting that either."

Black frowned slightly. "You said yesterday that we could get anything that I wanted."

"Yes, but –"

"Well I want the leather pants and I want the red skirt."

They glared at each other for a moment before Christiana sighed. "Fine, geez. You can get the stupid pants for all I care."

"And?"

"And the skirt."

Black grinned cheekily before tossing the skirt into the cart happily. Christiana couldn't help but roll her eyes as they made their way up to the check-out stand.

How on earth was she going to survive however long with this man? He was so – so . . . insufferable.

* * *

They arrived home late, Black running happily to his room with his new purchases. They probably would have been back soon had it not been for the fact that she couldn't wake him up before eleven and for the fact that he stopped at some Muggle store to buy posters and things of the like. Christiana sighed, going to her room to drop off her coat and jacket.

Across the hall, Black was stuffing clothes into his drawers haphazardly. Christiana made a move to volunteer to fold everything but she stopped. Black was a grown man, older than she even, not her little sister. She would not be picking up his clothes and folding them for him. The room was his to do with what he wished.

"I'm going to get ready for bed," she said, stopping by his room and trying to ignore the clutter that was already beginning. "Do you need anything, Mr. Black?"

"Sirius. And no, I'm fine," Black replied with an ear-to-ear grin.

First night in her home with a stranger in the room across the hall. Should she lock the door. "Okay. Well, good night."

"Good night. And thank you, Chris."

Christiana opened her mouth to correct him but instead, she just shook her head, going into her room and closing the door, not seeing Black's smile widen or hearing the small chuckle he gave.

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**A/N: Uh Oh! Who's studying who here? Lol seems as if Sirius is already wearing her down and it's only been a two days! Hope you guys liked it. Stay tuned.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

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"Where are we going?'

"I've told you to just wait, we'll be there soon enough."

Christiana and Black walked down the street. It was just before New Years, so houses still had Christmas lights and decorations strewn about. Christiana took Black's arm as they moved forward, past the wards that kept Muggles from seeing the destroyed Potter house.

Black stared at the house for a moment before turning to Christiana with a glare. "Why would you bring me here?"

"It's to help you remember," she told him apologetically. "The only way you're ever going to figure out anything is to retrace your steps."

Black glared at her for only a second more before looking back to the house. "It had been late, I remember."

He stepped forward, moving up to the gate. "Peter was missing but his house . . . his house didn't look like this. It was almost spotless. I – I rushed over here, on my motorcycle and I saw the house like this, destroyed. Why did they keep it like this?"

"It's supposed to be a memorial of sorts," Christiana explained. "To remember the violence that ripped the family apart."

Black nodded. He took a deep breath. "Hagrid was here when I got here and he had baby Harry. I begged him to let me take him; I was his Godfather after all. I could watch him, I was supposed to watch him. Hagrid, though, he told me he had specific orders from Dumbledore concerning Harry. I –"

The man stopped, turning from the gate and instead walking in the direction of the cemetery. Christiana followed silently behind him, pulling her coat tighter around her. Black walked into the cemetery and searched until he found what he was looking for.

James and Lily's graves had been recently cleaned, most likely by Harry, himself. Black kneeled in front of these graves now. "I remember. I remember feeling so angry. The one thing that I was supposed to do, watch over Harry, protect Harry, and I couldn't even do that. I thought – I thought the least I could do then was avenge their death. I gave Hagrid my bike and I went searching for Peter. . . ."

Black put his head down in his hands, his shoulders shaking. Hesitantly, Christiana placed her hand on his shoulder. Surprisingly he turned, standing to his feet. "I have to see him. I have to see Harry."

Christiana stared at him in surprise. "Black, that would be against all sorts of regulations."

"Forget rules and regulations for once in your life, Chris!" Black pleaded. "I need to see him."

"I can't just – Do you realize that you're not even supposed to be alive right now? I can't take you over there, I just can't."

He took her mitten hands in his gloved ones, holding them up to his chest. Christiana flushed despite the cold. Now this was just absurd. But then he was gazing down at her, looking oh so sad. "Please."

Christiana gazed back for a moment before steeling her resolve. She was a worker for the Department of Mysteries! She had taken an oath of secrecy involving all and any matters that were discussed and/or studied in their department! She was an Unspeakable!

On that thought she took her hands away from Black. "No. Absolutely not."

* * *

The door in front of her opened revealing Ginny Weasley Potter, still with red hair bright as anything and just a little bit older and noticeably pregnant. She'd pop any day now. She smiled brightly. "Hi. Can I help you?"

"Hello Mrs. Potter. My name is Christiana Anderson. I called earlier this week. I'm here to speak with Mr. Potter."

"Christiana I remember you." If possible Ginny's smile widened. "You were Head Girl from my year. How could I forget No-Nonsense Anderson?"

Christiana tried not to visibly cringe. So she had been strict as Head girl. Who hadn't been? Ginny invited her in doors, out of the snow. "Can I get you anything to drink?" Ginny asked, leading her through the foyer and into another room. "Tea, Cocoa?"

"No, I'm fine," Christiana replied, taking the seat in the living room that Ginny gestured too.

"I'll go get Harry then." The other woman left the room and Christiana looked around. Black's description of the place certainly didn't fit the Grimmuald place that she now sat in. It was actually very cheery here.

"Hello." Christiana looked up as Harry Potter himself came in the room. Having grown up with Muggles, meeting Harry Potter in school hadn't been as big as a shock to her as it had been to the Wizards but still, seeing him now after everything he had done in and out of school while she had been there, was amazing. He grinned at her. "Harry Potter."

"Of course," Christiana said shaking his hand. "Christiana Anderson."

"Nice to meet you. Oh." Christiana looked down as a little turquoise-haired boy stuck out from behind Harry's leg. Harry laughed. "This is Theodore Lupin, my god-son. Teddy, this is Christiana."

The little boy waved before ducking back behind his Godfather's leg. Harry pulled him up into his arms before sitting down in the seat across from Christiana. "So what's all this about? You said it was urgent over the phone."

"I didn't mean to startle you or anything," Christiana said. "It's just – he wouldn't quit bothering me until I got him over here as soon as possible."

"Er, okay," Harry said, bouncing Teddy on his lap. "Who's he?"

"Mr. Potter, what I'm going to tell you is completely and totally confidential. No one, that includes Mrs. Potter, is to hear a word of this until the time is right. I could lose my job for this so it's a horribly huge risk I'm taking."

"I'm sorry but – what in the world are you talking about?"

"Do you have Floo powder?"

Harry, still very much confused, nodded towards the fireplace mantel. Christiana thanked him, standing and grabbing a pinch of Floo Powder. "Anderson Flat," she called, throwing the powder in. Looking at Harry quickly, she stuck her head into the fire. "You can come through now. . . . Hold on, hold on! Geez!"

Christiana backed away from the fire place, shaking soot from her hair. "He's so bleeding impatient," she muttered.

She looked to Harry who was watching her, warily as if he were worried about her sanity. But then he was standing and setting Teddy down on the ground. "Merlin."

Black had stepped through the fireplace and was staring at Harry in almost the same fashion, shocked and amazed. "Bloody hell ."

If Harry noticed or was concerned about Black's very apparent lack of age, he didn't say anything about it. Both men stepped forward and grasped each other in a very manly hug (in Christiana's opinion). Despite the obvious break in the rules, Christiana couldn't help but smile at the reunion. She hadn't known how much it would affect the two. And now she felt awkward watching them.

She felt a tugging on her coat and she looked down to find Teddy's hand attached to it. The little boy couldn't have been more than four but he seemed to know when it was time to move. She let him pull her from the room, back into the foyer.

"Will you play with me?" he asked softly.

"Er –" Christiana looked towards the living room where Black and Harry were no doubt still having their awkward moment and then back at Teddy, deciding to choose the lesser of two evils.

Not that this sweet little boy could ever be evil.

Harry couldn't help but stare at Sirius who was staring back. Sirius finally grinned. "You're definitely not a baby anymore. When Chris brought me here, I – I knew I shouldn't have expected a one-year-old, especially not living in this house, but seeing you – wow, you look like James."

"And you look like old photos," Harry said. "Merlin, Sirius, what happened to you?"

Sirius shrugged. "I don't know. Chris won't give me any details and she told me that I wasn't to ask you for any," he added, looking at Harry with an expectant expression.

Harry opened his mouth to speak but stopped, smiling. "You haven't changed. But if Ms. Anderson doesn't want me to say anything, I won't. She seems really strict."

Sirius sighed almost dramatically. "Can you believe she's only twenty? She's such a stickler for the rules. I don't mind messing with her. She's so easy to frustrate, it's kind of cute. But what have you been up to? Besides redecorating the place."

The younger boy shrugged. "Auror training if you can believe it. I have a baby on the way, a boy. He should be here in February."

"A baby. Wow . . . I just – it's amazing, I suppose."

"Tell me about it. Ginny, that's my wife, and I we already picked a name. He'll be James Sirius Potter."

Sirius couldn't help but be touched and it must have showed on his face because Harry looked away with a slight smile. "That's really nice, Harry. I'm sure – I'm sure your dad would have loved to see your grandson."

Harry nodded. "Speaking of Teddy, you haven't met Andromeda's grandson."

"Tonk's had a kid?"

"Yep, he's four and I'm his Godfather. He would be your third cousin, right? Where did he get off to. Teddy?"

It was then that the men heard a scream. Glancing at each other, they ran out of the room, Harry leading the way through the foyer and into a small room that they had converted into a playroom.

* * *

Christiana fell backwards, her hair flinging into her face. She was surprised to find that the little tiara (Teddy said it belonged to a girl named 'Vicky') hadn't fallen off her head, but she kept up the act, throwing one hand to her forehead in a dramatic gesture. "Oh! Sweet Prince I have been slain!"

"Princess!" Teddy shouted, jumping to her side. "Princess what can I do?"

Christiana gasped. "They only way to save a princess is with true love's kiss."

Teddy's little nose scrunched up and he backed away, his hair turning green. "Ew! You're a girl! I'm not going to kiss you! You have cooties!"

Christiana sat up. "Hmm, that's a problem isn't it?"

"Yep."

"You know what happens when the princess doesn't get true love's kiss."

"No. What?"

Christiana beckoned him forward, looking around as if to check that no one was listening. Teddy leaned towards her, excited for the secret. She grabbed him then. "They turn into the Tickle Monster!"

"NO!" Teddy screamed loudly, his hair turning bright yellow for a moment, before bursting into giggles as Christiana tickled him.

The door burst open, revealing Harry and Sirius. Teddy and Christiana looked up at the two men, Teddy giggling. "We were playing! Chrissy turned into the Tickle Monster!"

Harry burst into laughter, surprised. Christiana blushed, pulling the tiara from her mass of hair. She looked up to Sirius who was grinning at her in an odd way. She got to her feet, clearing her throat but not being able to find anything to say.

Sirius must have noticed because he looked to the little boy next to her. "You must be Teddy."

Christiana could feel her blush subside as the attention was drawn away from her and she sighed.

That was until Teddy jumped back into her arms again. "Can Chrissy come back over again?"

"Er," Harry and Christiana both said, looking up at each other. Harry smiled easily. "I'm sure Ms. Anderson is very busy with work."

"She'll be back, Teddy!" Sirius interrupted ruffling the little boy's hair and taking Christiana's hand to pull her to her feet. "We'll come back and visit again, real soon."

Christiana, despite wanting to protest, could say nothing at the look of that little boy's smile.

* * *

"You're a big softy on the inside," Sirius told her that evening at dinner.

"Don't get used to it, Sirius," Christiana murmured.

Sirius looked up to see from his meal to see that Christiana was still eating normally. Had she even noticed she had just called him by his first name? He couldn't help but grin.

Would you look at that?

Nothing but a big softy.

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**A/N: I hope you guys liked it so far :-D This was a fun chapter to write, really. Stay tuned :-D**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

**A/N: Thanks to those who put this story on Alert so far: siriusfanno1, ****ElementUchihaMaster, ashes-of-lily, bluesmidge101, earthlover, iSiRiUsLyLoVeSiRiUs, Jade the Grey, Joelle8, kat183, .4life., qwertyqaz1213, , Shoujixyo-chan, siriusfanno1, ..hair, TwistedHarmony, xandromedax, The Gray Rook and XoAnnaCullenOX; and Favorites: earthlove, iSiRiUsLyLoVeSiRiUs, Lady of Lochaber, potter-granger-mad, remdog416, Shoujixyo-chan, Snuffles-sweetie, XxXFairyQueenXxX. And to all those who have reviewed :-D You guys are great.**

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Christiana and Sirius stood on the sidewalk near a street.

It wasn't any normal street however.

This was the street where Sirius' whole life changed for the worst, if it already hadn't been heading in that direction.

Sirius stared out in the street as Muggles walk by. They didn't see him though, nor did they see Christiana or acknowledge the two. She had cast a Disillusionment Charm around the area to hide them and also a Muggle-Repelling Charm for extra measure; this way, anyone who approached them would suddenly remember some important meeting.

She watched now as Sirius walked forward into the middle of the street. He held his arm out as if he were holding his wand. "Peter," he muttered. "Peter, stop! I know what you did!"

"'What I did?' he said. '_You_ betrayed Lily and James! _You_ sold them out to You-Know-Who! _You_ killed them!'"

"What are you talking about? I said. How dare you –?" Sirius looked to Christiana. "I think it was then that I should have realized that this was a trap. He – he kept saying I killed them, he kept saying it. . . ."

Sirius turned in the opposite direction, putting his hand behind his back. " 'What are you doing, Sirius? No! Wait. . . .'"

He turned back around, looking at the street. "It was blown apart before I could even do anything. There were – Muggles, so many of them that he killed. He disappeared and all that was left was his finger. But – but I didn't do and I kept saying that when the Department of Law Enforcement came and got me. It wasn't me."

Sirius' hands dropped to his sides and he stared down at the ground. Christiana looked up as a snow drop feel from the sky, followed by more and soon it looked like it was going to become a snow storm. Looking back to Sirius, she saw his hair coated with snow now and he was almost visibly shivering in the light coat he had chosen to wear. She walked forward, placing a hand on his shoulder. "You did good. That'll be enough for today, Sirius. Let's go home, okay?"

He looked up at her as if he hadn't seen her before he nodded. She removed her charms and took his arm as the Muggles started to notice them. His arm tightened in hers and she looked up at him, giving him a small smile that he returned.

* * *

Sirius went straight to his room when they got home, closing the door behind him. Christiana took a deep breath before going into her own room. She felt constricted and so she changed quickly into track pants, a tank top and a light sweater. When she exited her room, Sirius' door was still closed so she went into the living room. Snow drifted past the window still, heavy and persistent. Christiana moved to turn up the heat and Sirius came out of his room with a box.

He stopped and stared at her for a moment. "When did you streak your hair?"

"Streak my –?" Christiana ran to the bathroom while Sirius shrugged, moving to the CD player.

Christiana saw indeed that just below her left ear there was a streak of gray hair. What in the world? She wore her hair back so much she hadn't even notice but now lose and down past her shoulders it was very visible. When had that happened? Was it a side effect from the Veil?

A blast of music shook her from her thoughts. She ran back out into the living room to see Sirius dancing around her living room to The Sex Pistols' 'God Save the Queen'.

"What are you doing?" She called over the music.

"I think your sister left these here!" he called back. "She has great taste! The Sex Pistols, The Bee Gees, The Beatles, Pink Floyd!"

Christiana shook her head. "What are you doing?"

"What does it look like? I'm cheering myself up!" He hopped over in her direction hand out. "Care to join me?"

Christiana shook her head. "I can't dance."

"It's not really dancing, is it? It's just a bunch of failing about! Have fun! Let loose! Haven't any of your boyfriends ever taken you dancing before?"

The girl flushed. "I've – I've never had a boyfriend." It wasn't something she liked to discuss. She was twenty-years-old (soon to be twenty-one) and had never really had a relationship. It wasn't that she hadn't wanted one or that no one had ever asked her. . . . She was just – too busy.

"Oh." Sirius stared at her a minute before breaking into a brilliant smile. "It's fine. I'll teach you!"

Before Christiana could react, Sirius had grabbed her hands and was pulling her back into the living room. "Come on! You just swing your arms and twist a little! There you're getting it!"

Despite herself, Christiana couldn't help the laugh that was bubbling up in her chest. And laugh she did as Sirius spun her away from him and back in and they bounced and jumped around the living room. This was definitely not dancing, she decided, but it was actually incredibly fun.

And she loved the Sex Pistols!

Sirius hopped up on the couch with his 'air guitar' and Christiana didn't even protest. The music was loud, it was almost hot in here with all the dancing, the downstairs (and possibly upstairs) neighbor was most definitely going to complain, and she didn't even hear the gate open or realize that some had walked in until she turned in that direction, arms above her head.

"Julia!" she screamed in surprise, coming to a screeching halt, she quickly reached over to turn down the music.

Julia stared at her, shocked. "Who are you and what have you done with Christiana? I didn't even know you owned track pants!"

"I didn't know you were coming by," Christiana said, attempting to smooth down her wild hair and wiping sweat from her brow.

"Obviously." Julia was smiling however. She had never, not since their parents passed away, seen Christiana so – unhinged! "I realized that I left my CDs and I wanted to pick them up before I got to the restaurant. I see you're putting them to good use though."

Sirius bounced over. "Hello there," he said in this low voice.

Christiana turned on him. "Sixteen-year-old little sister. Ravenclaw Quidditch Team, Beater, boyfriend. You, shoo."

He held up his hands with a grin. "Retract the talons, dragon lady. I was just saying hello."

He bounced away again, leaving Christiana shaking his head. When she looked back to Julia, the other girl was smirking. "So who is he?"

"Er –" Did this call for the truth or a lie? "His name is – Corvus Brown." Definitely a lie. "I was forced to take him in." Truth. "He's a very important person from my Department." Eh, semi-true. "I would have lost my job if I didn't." Possibly definitely true.

"Uh huh." Julia looked over her sister's shoulder. "He's cute. He seems kind of – young for a VIP. How long has been here?"

"Going on two weeks. Oh and trust me, he's important all right."

"I'm sure. Well, I suppose you can keep the CD's for now. You know I leave day after tomorrow for school again, right?"

"Of course."

"What are your plans for New Years?"

That's right. For the first time, she noticed Julia's fancy blue dress. It was New Years wasn't it? How did she forget? "Nothing."

"What do you mean, nothing? You have to do something!"

Sirius appeared by Christiana's side again, throwing his arm around her shoulder. "Don't worry. I'll make sure she has fun."

Julia bursts into laughs and Christiana blushed pushing Sirius away from her. "Shouldn't you be going to meet William?"

"I'm going, I'm going." Julia was still giggling as she got onto the lift, closing the gate. "Have fun!"

Christiana ran over and shut the huge metal doors on her sister's laughter. She hardly ever shut it but she didn't need another person walking in on her.

Turning, she found Sirius standing in front of her. "Something I said?"

Sighing, she shook her head. "No, no, you're fine."

"Should I turn the music back on?"

Christiana couldn't help but smile. "Sure."

* * *

Eleven-fifty p.m. found Sirius and Christiana, legs dangling over the back of the couch as they laid upside down, black and strawberry hair brushing the floor. The T.V. was on but muted and coffee mugs of hot chocolate sat on the floor (though it was hard to drink them upside down).

"This is actually really comfortable," Christiana said, smiling.

"How much time we got left?" Sirius asked.

Christiana lifted up her arm, twisting her wrist so that she could see her watch. "Ten minutes."

"So . . . Corvus Brown?"

"It's a constellation and a color. It was the only thing I could think of at the last minute! You can it later if you want."

"It might grow on me later." Sirius turned his head to look at her. "You're really kind of fun, Chris."

She laughed. "Really?"

"Really. Why don't you ever, I don't know, loosen up like that more often?"

Christiana sighed, looking up at the ceiling. "My parents died in a car accident when I was eleven and Julia was seven."

"I'm sorry," Sirius said, softly.

Christiana shook her head. "Don't worry about it. Anyway, we were shipped off to foster homes. I had to fight to make sure Julia and I stayed together. But – I've just always been the one to take care of her. I wanted to be able to prove that when I turned seventeen that I could care for her and myself. I had to grow up really fast in order to do that. There wasn't any time for me to, I guess, act like a kid or a teenager because I was making sure Julia could. And so I spent my free time studying and making sure I had a job when I left Hogwarts and a place to live. There really wasn't time to just loosen up, not really, because I had someone else I needed to be responsible for someone else."

Sirius sat silently for a moment, still staring at her, and then he smiled. "You're incredible. Really, I mean it."

Christiana couldn't help but smile. "Not so much I think."

"So if there was one thing you could have or do in the entire world, now that you have a job, you have a home, and your sister has moved out, what would it be?"

Christiana bit her lip looking down (or was it up?) at her socks. "Hmm. Toe socks."

"What?"

"You know the socks with the individual toes? A foster sister I had used to have a pink and yellow pair and they came all the way up to her knees and I thought they were so cute but I never could get them."

Sirius chuckled. "I just asked you what you could have in the entire world . . . and you say toe socks. You're definitely one weird girl."

"Hey you asked. Geez, I never said there was a wild child hidden inside me."

"You never looked though. Isn't there anything else?"

"I guess if there was anything else, I'd have to say a tattoo, like on my shoulder or something."

"If I took you to a tattoo parlor right now, would you get it?"

"Hmm . . . maybe. Oh look," Christiana said, ignoring Sirius' surprised look and checking her watch as it chimed quietly, "New Years."

She looked back to Sirius who was smiling at her now. "Happy New Years, Chris."

She smiled back. "Happy New Years, Sirius."

* * *

**A/N: I had fun writing this chapter. I hope you guys liked it. Thanks a bunch. **


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

**A/N: Welcome to the new people on Alert: SeaJay313, vmarslovahhh18 and Ms willow gosermer; and to those who've added me on author alert: fallingstar123. You guys are great! Now on to the show!**

* * *

Christiana certainly wasn't looking forward to this particular trip down memory lane so the two weeks it took to get official documents and a Portkey was almost a relieve.

However, the two weeks ended as they were supposed to and Sirius and Christiana were taking a Portkey to Azkaban Prison.

"Christiana Anderson, Department of Mysteries, official business," she said to the guard at the gate. He nodded, pulling a set of keys from a ring and leading the way.

Thank goodness they no longer used Dementors. She wouldn't have been able to do this otherwise and she was sure it would have been just that much harder for Sirius.

As it was, he had a tight grip on her hand now. "I don't want to be here," he said in a very small voice.

"I know," Christiana said but she kept pulling him through the prison. She saw a few people she recognized from the news papers: Dolores Umbridge glared at her from her cell but she was sure that the older women wasn't actually seeing her; Augustus Rookwood, Mulciber, Rodolphus Lestrange and his brother Rabastan, and Antonin Dolohov to name a few.

If those few recognized Sirius for who he was, they didn't make a sound; they just watched with dead eyes as they walked past. Even with the Dementors gone, this place could still drain the life out of you.

"Here you are," the guard said, pulling open a door. "Cell number fifty-three."

She felt Sirius' hand tighten on hers. "Thank you," she said. "We will be fine from here."

The guard eyed the both of them warily for a few more seconds before leaving them alone.

Sirius was practically hyperventilating when Christiana pulled him into the cell. She let go of his hand, stepping back away from him. If there was one thing she didn't know about Sirius Black (and she knew a lot thanks to her research), it was how he escaped from Azkaban. No one seemed to know, not even Harry (or if he did, he wasn't telling). He was just suddenly gone and at Hogwarts. Maybe now, she'd find out. "What do you remember?" she asked softly.

But Sirius couldn't seem to focus. He had his hands in his hair and he was practically frantic. He was murmuring to himself and Christiana could do nothing but watch. An idea coming to the front, she slowly leaned over to push the cell door closed.

"NO!" Sirius spun around hands out and eyes frantic. "No! Don't close the door, please! I don't belong here! I'm innocent! I didn't do it! It wasn't me! Please!"

"Sirius," Christiana said, moving from the door, "Sirius, calm down!"

"I don't belong here!" he yelled again. "It wasn't me! Please, you have to believe me!"

"Sirius!" Christiana grabbed his wrists and though he was a lot stronger than her, he stopped struggling to look at her through tear-filled eyes. "I believe you okay? I believe you."

He stared at her a moment longer before pulling her into his arms, his hands gripping the back of her coat. His face was buried in her neck and she could feel him crying. After a moment's hesitation, she wrapped her arms around him.

They stood there a while in the cold, dark cell that had once been his home and Christiana let him cry until the tears stopped. The guard must not have considered them worth while because he didn't come by again.

"I spent twelve years here," he muttered against her neck and she tried to ignore the shivers that went up her spine.

"I know," she whispered. "It wasn't your fault though. You shouldn't have been here."

He nodded. "I want to go home."

"Okay."

He let go of her and turned away to wipe his face with the sleeve of his jacket. When he had finished that, he took her hand again, shoving the other into his pocket. Christiana thanked the guard as they left, their Portkey taking them back to the Ministry of Magic.

* * *

They had returned home by one-thirty in the afternoon and it was now going on four.

Sirius had yet to come out of his room, again.

Christiana had even turned on the music (going with Pink Floyd this time) but he didn't come out of his room. Giving up, she went and knocked on his door. "Sirius," she said softly. "Sirius, I – are you okay?"

"Yeah." She was surprised to hear his voice despite the fact that it's muffled. "Yeah, I'm fine, Chris."

"I, er, turned on the CD player," she said through the door. "It's Pink Floyd. I thought it might cheer you up."

She stepped back in shock as the door was yanked open. She was equally shocked to see that he was smiling. And she was even more surprised when he pulled her into his arms again. "Thank you," he whispered to her.

Before Christiana could respond, he let go of her, grinning now. "But I have a better idea to cheer up."

* * *

Ten minutes later, the two of them stood in front of a shop, Christiana looking up at the sign. "What would I look like?"

Sirius placed a hand on her shoulder. "A twenty-year old, what else?"

She turned to Sirius, a thoughtful look. "If I do this, you have to promise me something."

Sirius' grin faded a little. "Depends."

"If I do this . . . you have to tell me how you escaped from prison."

His smile fell completely. "Really?"

"Yes, or else I'm not doing this."

Sirius gazed at her thoughtfully. "If I tell you that, you can't tell anyone else. I can't see it in any book or research paper or anything like that."

Christiana mulled over this. It was her job as a researcher to write down everything from her research. But – technically, this wasn't research, really . . . she really wanted to know for personal gain. "Fine."

Turning, she strolled into the Tattoo Parlor, Sirius on her heels. She pulled off her jacket and threw it to Sirius who was grinning again. Underneath she wore only a tank top. A guy at the counter, complete with tattoos for sleeves, looked to her. "Can I help you?"

The girl nodded. "I'm here for my first tattoo."

* * *

Christiana pulled the bandage away again, looking at blue and silver butterfly that now rested on the front of her shoulder, just above the crook of her underarm.

"Will you stop?" Sirius laughed and she shook her head, carefully smoothing the bandage back down.

"I can't believe I actually did it," she murmured, placing her hand over it. She pouted in Sirius' direction. "It hurts."

He snorted. "Obviously."

"So it's your turn to keep up your part of the bargain," Christiana said.

Sirius was silent for a moment before he spoke. "And you promise, no research paper or book or anything like that, right? This is completely between you and me?"

"Completely between you and me."

Sighing, he stood up, facing her. "What I'm about to show you could possibly ruin a lot of people's reputations, even if they're, you know, passed on. So – please. . . ."

"I'm not going to tell anyone, Sirius," Christiana said. "I promise."

He nodded, taking a deep breath. And before Christiana had a chance to blink, Sirius Black became a black shaggy dog.

"Bloody freaking hell!" she shouted, jumping up onto her couch.

Sirius barked at her, panting. Slowly, she came back down, sitting. Sirius lopped forward, placing his head on her knee. Christiana hesitantly put her hand on his head, which he turned slightly to the left. She laughed, softly, scratching behind his ear. "This – this is completely strange. Cool, but strange. Explanatory, I suppose, since Animangus transform into the animal that reflects their inner self. Sorry, geez," she muttered when the dog growled at her. She hadn't meant to slip into professional roll.

Sirius moved backward, changing back into himself once more. He shook his head. "Normally, I have a very sweet disposition as a dog. In fact, more than once, James suggested that I make the change permanent. The tail, I could live with. But the fleas, they're murder."

Christiana smiled. "So – how'd this come about?"

Sirius sat next to her again, slouching forward. "It's a long story."

"We have nothing but time."

He smiled at her before leaning back and motioning that Christiana should do the same. "Well, as you know already, my good friend, Remus Lupin, was a Werewolf. . . ."

* * *

**A/N: AWW they're bounding lol. I hope you guys like this chapter. Chris is certainly making a break from her hard core shell right? Thanks you guys for reading and I'll see you next time. Just a few things: Fifty-three was a number I pulled out of the air, I don't really know what cell Sirius was in; I checked and Animangus indeed keep their clothes after transforming; also, the fact about ****the inner self reflecting is true too; and you might recognize that quote ('Normally, I have a very sweet disposition') from the book :-D thanks again.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

**A/N: Welcome to our new Alerts: flyingcrispi; and our new Favorites: dance life away. You guys are great! **

* * *

"I came here to find Peter."

Christiana looked over at Sirius. They stood outside of Hogwarts now, just at the point where Apparation was allowed and you could practically feel the wards that blocked Muggles from seeing the school.

"Why?" she asked.

"Well, I told you his Animangus form was a rat, right?" Sirius said as they walked the edge. "The day that I confronted him on the street and he killed all those people, he chopped off his finger and turned into a rat and escaped into the sewers. For twelve years, he masqueraded as the Weasleys' pet rat. I came here to find him to – kill him, I guess, though in retrospect that wouldn't have set me free. It took the whole year with me spending the nights in the caves of Hogsmeade and surviving only on rats . . . I snuck into the castle twice thanks to Crookshanks – oh, er, that's Hermione's cat – but I could never catch him.

"When I finally did manage to corner him, it was in front of Ron, Harry, and Hermione. Harry had this notion that I was there to kill him and it took Remus' help to convince them that Peter was Ron's rat. We were about to turn him in but – we forgot that it was the full moon. Remus transformed and Peter got away. You know, Harry never quite explained to me how he and Hermione managed to come to my rescue but I was glad for it. Otherwise I would have gotten the Kiss."

Sirius fell silent, staring up at Hogwarts. Christiana stopped beside him. "You've been through a lot."

The man could only nod. "It's really weird, getting my 'memories' back. I still feel like I'm only twenty-two. These memories keep coming to me though like – like I'm watching a movie of my life or something before I've even lived it . . . or is it after. I know what I'm seeing is real, that I have lived it, but at the same time it's just – weird."

"I suppose it would feel that way," Christiana said.

The two of them ended up in Hogsmeade. Christiana went into the Three Broomsticks and got them both two butterbeers. The snow had finally stopped, thankfully, though it was early considering it was only the middle of January. But the couple still walked, ending up in front of the Shrieking Shack.

Sirius actually smiled as they stood in front of the run down house. "We had good times here," he said, laughing.

"It seems like it." Christiana said, smiling. This was certainly a change. She didn't think she'd ever see the time where they got finished with one of their expeditions and he'd be smiling. "Are you ready to go home?"

Sirius chugged back the rest of his butterbeer before grinning at her. "Actually, I was thinking about something else."

* * *

"No."

"Aww, come on Chris."

"No. You know, I'm starting to think that you're the one who's turning my hair gray. I'm not doing it."

Sirius pouted at her from the seat of his motorcycle. They stood now in front Grimmuald place. Christiana had thought it would be rude for him to asking Harry to return something that had been given to him but Harry had been glad to.

Sirius pulled his brand new wand from his pocket (they had gone and gotten it before they came over here) and an old baseball cap of Harry's from his pocket. He Transfigured it quickly into a helmet, holding it out to her.

Christiana fingered the back of her hair, which had gone completely gray now. It was still unexplained but it didn't seem to be anything to worry about so she left it alone. Now she had other things to worry about.

"I'm not getting on that thing, Sirius."

"Where's your sense of adventure and fun?" he asked, still pouting.

"I left it back in the house. There's snow and ice on the ground. I barely like driving in it, let alone hopping on the back of some crazy two-wheeled death machine."

"Chris, it's been almost two months. Don't you trust me by now?"

"Of course, but I hardly –"

"Then trust me now. Trust that I won't let anything happen to you okay?"

Christiana frowned at him for a moment before snatching the helmet from him. He grinned as she shoved the helmet on. "Geez. If I die today, I will haunt you for the rest of eternity."

"I'll hold you to that. Now come on!" He took her hand, and she climbed onto the motorcycle. "Hold on tight."

Christiana wrapped her arms his waist, trying to ignore the fact that she was this close to him and that she could feel his chest and heartbeat underneath her fingertips.

Okay, so if it wasn't obvious before, it was obvious now that Christiana was not comfortable with boys (or men, in this case). It wasn't that she hadn't spent a lot of time around them but when it came to, well. . . . Christiana was the smartest girl in her class. She could list of the ingredients to Felix Felicis, spell off a Disillusionment Charm, and heal a broken bone all in a heart but when it came to dealing with men and _that_ kind of stuff, she was very, er, Troll level. It wasn't common knowledge that she had never kissed a guy or had sex before and she planned to kept that way (though it wasn't like it wasn't noticeable).

So now, sitting on the back of a motorcycle with her arms wrapped around this guy's torso, she felt very awkward and couldn't help the blush that appeared on her face.

"Ready?" Sirius asked and she thought she heard something strange in his voice but she couldn't tell.

"No."

"Good." The bike roared to life and soon they were speeding down the street away from Grimmuald place, Christiana clinging on for dear life.

"See!" Sirius shouted. "It's not so bad!"

"Aren't we going a little too fast?" Christiana yelled back.

"Going fast is the whole point! Uh oh."

Christiana looked over her shoulder as the police came into view. "Bloody freaking hell! Sirius pull over right now!"

"Ha! This feels familiar!"

"I'm not kidding!"

"Hang on!" If possible, the bike sped up and the two of the were speeding past other cars who honked before pulling over to allow room for the police to chase after them.

"Sirius! The light!" Indeed the light they were approaching was now on yellow. They weren't going to make it!

"Trust me!"

Christiana screamed as the light turned red and the opposite cars were coming. They sped through and the other cars honked, screeching to stops and blocking the police. Christiana glanced over her shoulder and then laughed. "Oh wow! Oh wow!"

Sirius whooped in excitement. "What did I tell ya?"

Christiana laughed again as the bike revved and sped off faster down the street.

* * *

**A/N: Hope you guys liked this! Thought the bike scene would be fun :-D You guys are great. See you later!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

* * *

Sirius held Christiana's hand as they climbed up the rocky mountain side of Hogsmeade. She stumbled and he turned quickly, catching her by her elbows. "You okay?" he asked, concerned.

Christiana frowned slightly. Was she? She had been feeling awfully tired lately. This climb was really wearing her out. "Yeah. Yeah I'm fine."

He nodded and they continued up the hill again. "It's not much further."

Christiana, for once, had no clue where they were going. Like she had thought, her research of Sirius' life had some very large gaping holes. She had no clue where he had hidden after his escape from Hogwarts on the back of a hippogriff nor could she find the answers she had sought. It would only make sense that she could only get those answers from the source.

Sirius turned again and pulled her up onto a ledge to a small cave opening. The cage was littered with rat bones and paper. Was that a chicken bone? "You stayed here the whole time?"

"No." Sirius began to search around the floor of the cave. "I left Europe so that I'd be out of the Ministry of Magic's jurisdiction. I traveled all over the place, really, and I sent Harry letters; he and his friends referred to me as Snuffles, just in case the letters were intercepted. I only came here once when Harry was in the Triwizard Tournament and I wanted to see him to give him some advice. Hermione thought I shouldn't come because it was dangerous. Look," he said, standing up. He held in his hand an old almost deteriorated newspaper. The date was faded but Christiana could just make out the nineteen ninety-four in the corner.

"Where'd you go after you left here?" Christiana asked.

Sirius frowned at the floor as if he were working hard to remember. "Er, well Voldemort came back, right?"

"Right."

Sirius nodded, moving back towards the mouth of the cave, looking in the direction of Hogwarts. "Dumbledore called for me and asked me to gather the old Order of the Phoenix members and I offered him the use of Grimmuald place for a Headquarters."

"And then. . . ."

"I can't remember."

Christiana thought for a moment. "Well, since he already knows about you, we could see if it wouldn't be too much of a bother for Harry to have us over – Geez!" Christiana called out as Sirius pulled her down the hill. "You could at least let me owl him first!"

* * *

Harry, of course, was happy to have them over again, especially since Ginny was out with Hermione somewhere. Teddy was over again too and he ran at the sight of the 'Tickle Monster'.

Sirius grinned. "She'll have to catch you later, Sport. Come on," he added to Christiana, taking her hand. He pulled her up the stairs to the Drawing room. "This was Buckbeak's room."

"Buckbeak?" Christiana asked confused.

"My hippogriff."

"Oh." Well, most people kept weirder things for pets she supposed. "So what did you do here during the war?"

Sirius frowned. "Absolutely nothing. I was locked up in the house, I remember that much."

"Well, you were a convicted felon at the time. Sorry to say, it's only logical."

"At the time it didn't feel like it. I hated this place when I was younger. That's why I ran away to live with James and his family. At least they treated me right. Being locked up here, it felt like I was a prisoner again. Besides, I wanted in on the _action_. I was so incredibly excited when Harry told me they were starting a secret class. It sounded like something we would have done when we were younger." Sirius chuckled to himself. "I guess I figured since I couldn't do anything, they at least should. I suppose I shouldn't have told them to go through with it, considering I was supposed to be, you know, 'Godfather' and all, but I couldn't help it."

Christiana nodded, running her hand over the desk. Ginny must have been up here recently because the place was absolutely spotless. When she turned it was to find Sirius staring at him with his arms crossed. "What is it?"

Sirius tilted his head. "Doesn't any of this seem at all weird to you?"

"I specialize in the weird, Sirius," she responded. "The joys of being an Unspeakable, I suppose. But, Merlin forbid, I've actually had fun these past couple of weeks. You know, I've never worn my hair down before?"

"I like your hair down."

Christiana found herself blushing, unexplainably but she ignored it, looking away again. "But I mean, it maybe a little weird but I don't mind it. It's a change from the norm."

Sirius's hand appeared on top of hers and when she looked up he was grinning at her from across the desk. "You have to be one of the coolest girls I've ever met."

The blush returned again. "No one's ever said that me before."

"Yeah well it's true."

The atmosphere in the room had changed greatly and Christiana couldn't believe what she was even thinking about wanting to do.

But she thought it might be really nice to see what kissing the Sirius Black. . . . .

"Sirius! Christiana!"

Oh thank Merlin. "Harry's calling us," she said, quickly.

She rushed out the room, not noticing the disappointed Sirius behind her.

Damn Harry and his timing, he thought. He couldn't have waited ten seconds to call them? He followed Christiana down the stairs now, watching her hair bounce.

Damn Harry.

The boy stood at the bottom of the stairs, looking semi-distraught. "Hey guys, sorry to cut this short but I've got to take Teddy to St. Mungo's or something."

"What's wrong with him?" Sirius asked.

Teddy poked out from behind Harry's legs. His nose was a pig's snout. Harry sighed. "He was playing around and now he's stuck like this."

"Oh that's easy to fix," Christiana said, kneeling down. "Come here Teddy."

The little boy hopped over to her. "I don't know what the problem is. I like it!"

"I'm sure you do." Christiana took her wand from her pocket, lighting the end. "Now say 'Ah' and close your eyes."

"Ahhhh!" the little boy said, opening her mouth as wide as he could, squeezing his eyes shut. She set the wand down, quickly reaching forward to tickle his stomach with one hand and run her index finger down his snout.

Teddy snorted and, with a pop, his nose was back to normal, Chris's index finger resting on the tip. "Aww," the little boy said, unhappily.

Harry sighed. "That'll save me a huge explanation to Ginny. Thank you, Christiana."

"Anytime," she said smiling as she got to her feet.

Sirius couldn't help but gawk at the girl. "How'd you know how to do that?"

"Training as a Healer," Christiana told him, ruffling Teddy's hair, which turned red along with his face. "I worked with the kids mostly. It's – fun."

Teddy attacked Christiana who grabbed him up and spun him around. Sirius moved to stand next to Harry who was grinning at him. "She's something amazing, isn't she?" Harry asked.

Sirius, about to answer, frowned at Harry, seeing what he was trying to do. "Aren't you married mate?"

"Happily."

Sirius rolled his eyes, rushing forward to 'steal' Christiana away from Teddy, who stood to 'fight' for her. Harry couldn't help but smile at them.

Something was happening.

* * *

**A/n: Indeed something is happening! This one jumps POV's a bit but i hope you guys were able to keep up. So what did you think? I liked this chapter! Thanks for reading. She you guys next time!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

* * *

Christiana and Sirius stood at the top of the stone stairs, staring down at the Veil.

"I died here," Sirius said.

"In a manner of sorts, yes," Christiana responded. "Did you want to get closer?"

Sirius shook his head. "I never expected that I would die after surviving so much, I guess. And I was having so much fun, fighting Bellatrix. I thought I'd win. But then she suddenly stunned me and I was falling back through that curtain thing."

"What did it feel like in there?"

Surprisingly he smiled. "I remembered being with James and Lily. I – I don't think I realized then that I was actually dead though they were, especially when Remus joined us later."

He looked at her then. "But then I heard my name called. I remember James, Remus, and Lily were all smiling at me. Lily told me I had better go answer. When I looked up there was a hand outstretched, your hand, I'm guessing, and I just grabbed it. I'm sorry if I scared you."

"Well into the past now," Christiana replied. "I suppose now you just need to know what you missed."

"Could we do that some other time?" Sirius asked.

"Er, sure we don't have to do that right now. Was – was there something else you wanted to do?"

"Want to go to a carnival?"

* * *

An hour or so later found the two of them at a carnival, wearing light rain jackets. Christiana was glad that the snow was melting away, even if it was the middle of February and it wasn't raining yet. The sun was setting and the carnival lights were being lit and it wasn't too chilly. It was almost perfect. Sirius had heard the carnival being advertised on the telly and was excited to finally go.

"Here you go," he said, handing Christiana some cotton candy. "You know, I've never been to one of these things before."

"I would have never known," Christiana replied sarcastically, eyeing the corndogs, popcorn, ice cream, and cotton candy he had set up in front of him on their picnic table. "You're going to make yourself sick."

Sirius knocked his fist against his stomach. "I have a stomach of steel. Food will never make me sick."

Indeed he began to scarf down his food excitedly while Christiana sat and watched with a smile on her face. Well, if he did get sick at least it wouldn't be her money he threw up later that night.

In record time, it seemed, Sirius had finished all his junk and was standing up. "Come on, I want to win you something."

"You don't have to do that," Christiana protested but he pulled her to her feet, dragging her through the carnival.

He came to a stop at the Milk Bottle stand. "You there sir, you there!" the Carni shouted out. "Care to take a try?"

"How much?" Sirius asked, grinning.

"Three pounds for five balls, my dear friend," the man said, smiling back. "Knock down all the milk bottles and win a prize for the lovely lady."

Sirius reached into his pocket and Christiana grabbed his wrist. "Sirius these games are a scam," she whispered. "Those bottles are probably glued together."

Sirius grinned. "Don't worry, Chris. I got this."

Sirius pulled out his wallet and then turned back to the booth. "Three pounds."

"Very good, very good." The Carni placed the five balls on the counter. "Give it a shot, my fellow."

Sirius picked up the first ball, winking at Christiana. She rolled her eyes. He threw the first ball, missing by a long shot.

"Oh! Nice try!" The Carni laughed.

"That was a warm up," Sirius said, frowning at him, tossing the second ball which came closer but still missed. The third ball did the same. Christiana shook her head. She knew this had been a waste of time.

When the fourth ball missed again the Carni chuckled. "Sorry little lady. I'm guessing he really didn't want to win you a prize that badly."

"Of course I do!" Sirius rotated his arm, reaching for the fifth ball but the Carni stopped him.

"Tell you what, mate. You knock them down this time around and I'll let the pretty lady pick two prizes. What do you say? Deal?"

"Deal!" Sirius grinned and threw the ball hard . . . and knocked down all the milk bottles.

The Carni stared in shock while a few passersby clapped. Christiana was also surprised, but she couldn't help but laugh. That's when the Carni glared at Sirius, clearly angry. "You cheated!"

"How?" Sirius asked innocently. "We made a deal remember so my girl here gets two prizes."

And because the deal had been witnessed, the Carni had no choice but to agree and so Christiana was found holding a pink elephant and a purple bunny. "You scammed him," she said, smiling.

"Yeah well, you've got to get them before they get you," Sirius responded, throwing his arm around her shoulders. "Can I ask you something?"

"I guess."

"Why is it that you never had a boyfriend?"

Christiana shrugged. "Just too. I felt I had too much to deal with without the extra responsibility of a relationship on the side."

"So does that, er – does that mean you've never –?" Sirius started and Christiana moved out from under his arm.

"Don't make fun of me," she said, glaring at him.

He raised his hands. "I'm not, I'm not! It's just, you know, you don't meet too many girls who haven't is all."

"It's not like I'm saving myself," Christiana murmured, blushing. "I mean, I suppose in a way I am waiting for that special someone. A lot of people think it's pathetic."

"I don't," Sirius assured her, smiling. "It's kind of cute. Oh . . . Wait here."

Christiana sat down on a bench while Sirius rushed off. It was weird, the way she was feeling right now. She couldn't stop blushing! Well, this was certainly annoying and unexpected. Okay so maybe not unexpected but still it was frustrating just the same.

"Hey." Christiana looked up to see Sirius smiling at her, his hand outstretched. She couldn't help but grin when she saw what he was holding.

Pink and yellow striped toe-socks.

* * *

**A/N: AWW! HOW CUTE! I hope you guys liked this chapter. I'll be out of town for a week starting tomorrow. I'll probably have my laptop but no internet access so there probably won't be an update for a while but I'll see you guys next time kay? BYE!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

**A/N: I'm BACK! Lol thanks to those who added this story to their Favorites: If Only97, xdontdoubtdylan, and TheGirlInTheBackRound; To their Alerts: TheGirlInTheBackRound, If Only97, and guildam595; me to their Favorites: nightangelx18, CourtneyFan14, eemily5, and AuntMo,; and me to their Alerts: Imagination Vs Reality. You all are fantastic! On to the story!**

* * *

Teddy held up a picture he had drawn of Grimmuald Place, a bright smile on his face.

Christiana smiled. "That looks wonderful Teddy."

The two of them sat in the playroom once more, painting on little easels. Teddy already had a streak of green on his face and paint all over the little smock, though none of that bothered the four-year-old anyway.

Meanwhile, Sirius and Harry sat in the living room, Harry patiently telling Sirius all that he had missed, including the war and the death of Remus and Nymphadora (Tonks) Lupin. She had figured that it would be better for Sirius to hear everything from Harry, considering she had just been at the school while Harry and his friends had been traveling the world to fight Voldemort's tyranny.

So she and Teddy sat in the playroom together and it had been Teddy's idea to paint.

"Chrissy," Teddy started but then he trailed off as if he didn't know what to say.

It was amusing to see the little boy so serious. Christiana set her paint brush down. "What's wrong sweetheart?"

Teddy bit his lip. "Chrissy? Will you – will you always be my friend?"

The question, of course, surprised her. It hadn't been what she had been expecting him to ask at all. "Where's this coming from, Teddy?"

"Well – I think Sirius is trying to steal you away."

Again, Christiana was shocked. "What makes you say that?"

"I don't know. He looks at you funny when I see you guys. But I was your friend first! And I don't want him to take you away from me! It's not fair!"

Christiana opened her arms and pulled Teddy into them. She really, really hadn't been expecting this. She wouldn't have even expected someone so young to notice something like – well, whatever it was. The fact that he was so upset about it was surprising too. Though this was never planned. She had never expected to find Sirius, never expected to become something sort of like friends with the Harry Potter, and she had most certainly not expected to adore his precious Godson. "Oh, sweetheart! I'm not going to leave you! Why would you think such a thing?"

"Cause my best friend at school has a girlfriend and he doesn't want to play on the jungle gym anymore." Christiana had almost forgotten that Andromeda had enrolled Teddy into a Muggle elementary school.

She smiled, leaning him back to wipe tears from his face. "Sweetie, I'll hang around as long as you want me too. And I am far from Sirius's girlfriend."

The door was flung open, Harry running in with a duffle bag on his arm, Sirius on his heels. "Sorry," he said rushing around the room and shoving Teddy's small clothes into the bag. "I just got Hermione's Patronus. Ginny's gone into labor. I have to get Teddy cleaned up and home and then get to the hospital. I can't believe today is _the_ day. I mean I knew it would come soon but not _today_. I hope Andromeda is home. I'd hate to make Teddy wait at the hospital. He was supposed to spend the weekend with us but it wouldn't be a very fun weekend at the hospital. Crap where did I leave that – what am I looking for?"

Sirius approached Christiana as Harry ranted and paced. He grinned, wiping blue paint from her cheek. "Hilarious to watch isn't it?"

She went to responded when she saw the look on Teddy's face. He looked sad and a little confused as if he didn't quite understand what was going on.

"Harry," Christiana said, stopping him before he could speak again. He turned to look at her, frantic. "Does Ginny have a bag packed already for the hospital?"

Harry nodded, still mute, still in shock. Christiana sighed.

Men.

She pulled her wand from her pocket. "_Accio _Ginny's Bag."

The heavy thing came rushing down the stairs and into the playroom, flying into her arms. She handed it to Harry. "Here. You go ahead to the hospital. I'll make sure Teddy gets home safely, okay? And if Andromeda isn't home, I'll take Teddy to the park or something."

"Christiana," Harry said, shaking his head. "I couldn't ask you to do that."

"It's fine," she replied as Teddy took her hand, smiling. "I'd be glad to do it. You need to get to Ginny."

Harry looked torn for a minute but he quickly adjusted the bag on his arm, giving Christiana a half-hug that surprised her. "You can get to Andromeda's house through the Floo or Sirius knows where it is, right?" he added looking at the other man, who nodded. "The House will lock up as soon as you leave."

"Congratulations, mate," Sirius said, clapping the boy on his back.

Harry grinned before turning on the spot, Apparating. Sirius stared at that spot, wistfully. "I remember when I had seen that same look on James's face."

"I get to spend the rest of the day with you, Chrissy?" Teddy was saying as he tried to pry the lid of the yellow paint bottle. "We're going to have fun! Did you say the park? I love to play on the swings and on the slide and on the monkey bars and in the sand box and – oops."

The lid came off finally . . . and splashed yellow paint all over the little boy and the floor. Sirius chuckled and Teddy flushed, his hair and face turning red. "Sorry," he muttered.

Christiana sighed, elbowing Sirius in the side before pulling her wand out of her pocket. "Let's get you cleaned up."

* * *

"Why can't I see Andromeda?" Sirius whined. Christiana shushed him and he frowned, shifting a sleeping Teddy in his arms.

They had all gone to a park near Andromeda's house that Teddy had shown them, the boy finally warming up to Sirius after a 'private talk'. Teddy had dragged Sirius away to the opposite of the park, much to both of the adults' confusion and Christiana watched as Sirius kneeled down to be eye-level with the boy. His facial expression had gone from surprised to amusement to this tenderness that was completely endearing. Christiana had watched this all, trying to figure out what they might have been talking about. She wondered if Teddy reminded Sirius of Remus. She was sure that if Sirius had still been alive, he also would have been a Godfather. As was the case, he was still his older cousin. The two of them had come back and everything was peachy.

When they had gone for ice cream, the two boys had shared secret glances and refused to share what they had been talking about. Even when Teddy had fallen asleep, Sirius wouldn't say what was so secret.

"Just guy talk," he said, grinning.

Now they walked to Andromeda's house, Teddy snoring with his head on Sirius's shoulder. Christiana smiled up at them both, reaching to smooth back Teddy's turquoise hair. "Did you and Harry get far?"

Sirius nodded and though he still had a smile on his face, his eyes were sad. "I haven't heard what happened in the war yet but I know what happened just after I died. When I was at school, I used to think that Dumbledore was invincible. What year were you?"

"Fifth," Christiana replied, looking down.

"It must have been horrible."

"That it was." It wasn't something that Christiana liked talking about much. She had adored Dumbledore, had gone to him for advice. She didn't know how many other students had done that but she went to his office as much as she could.

They reached the house soon and Sirius reluctantly handed Teddy to her. He so wanted to meet Andromeda but Christiana had already taken a big risk taking him to Harry. Shifting Teddy in her arms, she knocked on the door.

When it opened, Christiana took a moment to admire the beautiful woman in front of her. She wasn't young, obviously, but something about her strong face just made her gorgeous.

"Er, hello," Christiana said, weakly. "I know how weird this must be, having a stranger drop your grandson off, but –"

"Dear, you're hardly a stranger," the woman said with a smile, opening the door wider for her to come in. She closed the door behind them both, leading the way to Teddy's room. "He talks about you so much I feel as if I know you already. Besides, Harry was kind enough to send me a Patronus telling me a friend would be bringing Teddy home."

They reached Teddy's room quickly enough and Christiana laid him down for his nap. Andromeda moved forward, placing a kiss on his cheek before ushering the way out the door again. "Harry tells me you're very busy but you should make your way over here more often. Teddy adores you. And you seem like a very kind girl."

Christiana smiled. "I'll do what I can, Mrs. Tonks."

"Please, just Andromeda. Goodbye . . . Chrissy," she said smiling, using the nickname her grandson had used. With that, she closed the door and Christiana made her way back to the sidewalk where Sirius was waiting in the shadows.

"How is she?" Sirius asked.

"She seems fine," Christiana said and she admired that. The woman had lost her husband, daughter, son-in-law, and, so she thought, her second cousin and yet she was so strong. Christiana found herself wishing she could have shown her Sirius, even if it was against the rules.

"That's good." Sirius was silent for a moment as they walked down the street. But then he reached over and took her hand. "I wanted to say sorry for bringing up Dumbledore. I didn't know it made you uncomfortable."

"It's fine," Christiana said and it truly was. He hadn't known and she shouldn't have let it bother her so, she realized.

But she was also very aware of her hand in his. Gloves were finally off as they moved into mid-February so she could feel that his hand was slightly calloused from the gloves he wore when riding his bike. It was also large and completely enveloped hers and it was warm. And he still hadn't let go.

Looking up at him, she saw the smile on his face, which she returned, a slight blush on her cheeks.

What was happening?

* * *

**A/N: I hope you guys liked this chapter. I'll see you next time!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

**A/N: Thanks to those who have added this to their Favorites: Anonymous Echo, Numba 1 Basket Case, BANDN3RD, and Avarainna. You guys rock my socks!**

* * *

"Home!" Sirius called, closing and locking the big metal doors behind him.

"Okay!" Christiana answered from her bedroom. Clothes were strewn all over her bed, seeing as how she had emptied her closet and drawers.

Sirius walked into the room. "Whoa! Did a bomb go off in here? Your room looks like mine."

"Hardly," Christiana said smiling. "You were gone, I was bored so I decided to do some spring cleaning, get rid of clothes I don't wear anymore. How are you feeling?"

Sirius shrugged. He had gone alone this time to Harry's house (or was it his) to hear more about the war. He leaned against the wall, crossing his arms. "I'm not quite sure how to feel. My friends are dead but I know why they died and I would have – I _did_ do the same thing. Harry went through a lot and I wish I could have been there for him but in the end I suppose I was. It's hard to explain," he added at her confused glance. "But I just hate that it feels like all a story to me. I lived it, but I didn't."

"It'll take some time to get used to. That's why you're here now, to adjust before we can really put you back into the world."

"Will I go as Sirius Black or Corvus Brown?"

"Hopefully, Sirius Black."

"Good, 'cause I like me."

"I'm sure."

Sirius smirked, still watching her she could tell; she felt his eyes on her back. "So what are you getting rid of?"

Christiana pointed to the bottom of her bed. "Everything right there."

"Ah, no, Chris." She turned as he held up the red skirt they had bought on his second day there. "You can't get rid of this! I haven't even seen you wear it yet!"

She couldn't help the blush that came to her face. "I'm never going to wear that."

"Who knows? You might decide to wear it one day. Keep it. Please?"

She looked into his gaze, amused before reaching across the bed to snatch it from him and hang it back up in the closet.

"Great!" Sirius said and he flung himself onto her bed. "I'm bored, Chris."

"You could go clean your own room," she told him, yanking a pair of jeans out from under him. Sirius made a retching sound and Christiana shook her head. "Well I'm out of ideas."

"We could go to a movie," Sirius suggested. "Or we can go for a ride on my bike."

"Busy, Sirius."

The man sighed and she heard her bed creak as he got up and walked out the room. Christiana shook her head again. There was just no pleasing some people.

"Sirius?" she called to no answer. She turned to the door. "Sirius, you can watch T.V. of course! I'm sure you can find something. Sirius?"

She turned back around to her closet, holding up a blue flower patterned dress. This was cute. If she remembered correctly, Julia had bought it for her when she left Hogwarts. She had yet to wear it but it probably still fit.

"EEK!" Christiana screamed out as an ice cold spray of water hit her dead center in her lower back. When she turned, it was to see Sirius standing on the other side of her bed, holding a spray bottle with a menacing grin on his face. "Sirius, stay away from me with that – I'm warning you. GEEZ!"

Christiana screamed again as Sirius sprayed her in her stomach. He let out a loud battle cry, scrambling across the bed. She ran for it, laughing now. "Stop it!"

She closed the door just to stall him, running into the kitchen. When Sirius came out her with his spray bottle, she had the extendable faucet outstretched.

"Hey!" Sirius yelled as he got a face full of water. Christiana laughed triumphantly until Sirius sprang forward, reaching for the hose.

The hose slipped away from both of them, spraying water all over the place. Christiana screamed and Sirius shouted, both trying to avoid the water and catch the hose at the same time. Christiana grabbed the nozzle of the faucet and shut it off, putting it back in place. She giggled, wiping water from her face. "Okay we won't use that anymore. . . . Sirius?"

He was gone again.

Listening she heard the padding and light scratching of his paws on the floor. "No fair! I can't do that!"

Quickly she reached for her wand, pointing it out in front of her. "_Accio_ spray bottle."

The item zoomed into her hand and Christiana laughed. "At least I have opposable thumbs."

Still, she didn't know where he was. Putting her wand down, she held the spray bottle in front of her, climbing over the back of the couch and onto the floor. She needed a barrier and the couch would work for now. "Come out, come out wherever you are," she sang.

There was a bark from behind her and she spun around, crying out as the large black dog bounded towards her. She slid to the floor, laughing as the dog hovered over her, paws on the couch on either side of her head. He licked her once, wet and sloppy on her face and she giggled, reaching up to scratch behind his ear. "Okay, okay, you win!"

In a blink, Sirius was back to normal, a large grin on his face. "I can't be defeated is all. Don't feel bad."

Christiana laughed again but then she suddenly realized their proximity. His face couldn't have been more than a breath away from hers, her hand now resting in his hair and he was practically straddling one of her legs on his knees. She could feel his body heat and his hair, still wet, dripped water onto her tank-top.

Sirius must have noticed how close they were too because suddenly the smile left his face and he was looking directly into her eyes. His hand lifted and his middle finger brushed down her collarbone to trace the butterfly tattoo on her shoulder.

Oh dear.

"What did – what did Teddy tell you?" she asked because it was the only thing she could think to say to distract the both of them – well, at least her. "In the park the other day?"

Sirius smiled softly, still tracing her tattoo. "He told me that I wasn't allowed to hurt you or else, when he got his wand, he'd come after me. I told him that I wouldn't hurt you. I couldn't."

"Oh." How crazy was it that a four-year-old had noticed things that they themselves – well, at least she – hadn't?

When she looked up again, Sirius was gazing at her in the most obvious way. She bit her lip. This wasn't happening. There was no way she should be allowing herself to even become involved in this! He was, for lack of a better word, a patient. This was ridiculous. After all was said and done he'd have his memory erased and be sent out into the world never to have anything to do with her ever again. She'd only end up hurt in the process no matter his promise to Teddy. No. No she couldn't do this, whatever this was. What would her associates think? Besides, what if she were a horrible kisser? It wasn't like she practiced this sort of thing. What if he thought her sloppy or amateur or, worse, horrible? What if she just ended up embarrassing herself? What if –

"Christiana." She came back into focus. Sirius was staring at her fondly. "Stop thinking so much."

And then he kissed her.

Oh yeah. It was definitely easy to stop thinking then.

His hand laid flat on her shoulder now, fingertips brushing her collarbone. Nothing mattered anymore. Not her associates, not the fact that he was a patient . . . if she had known her first kiss was going to be like this, she so would have went ahead and gone through with it already.

Sirius's other hand lifted from the couch, wrapping in her wet hair and he pulled her closer to him the hand on her shoulder moving to her lower back, making her gasp against his mouth. Maybe she was doing better than she thought.

But that didn't matter.

The only thing that mattered now was the feel of his lips against her, his hand in her hair and on her back. Oh yeah, this was definitely nice. His tongue brushed against the bottom of her lip and Christiana leaned back, blushing.

Sirius gazed at her with soft eyes. "Sorry. I don't want to, you know, push you to do anything you don't want to do."

"No, no, it's fine," Christiana replied. "Uh, we can – we can keep going."

"Great." And he pressed his lips against hers again.

Oh yeah.

This was definitely great.

* * *

**A/N: Whoo! Hot and steamy! Hope you guys liked this chapter! I'll see you next time.**


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: Not mine!**

**A/N: Welcome to new Story Alert readers: mindreadingwierdo and ERMartin; Favorite story: wildgirl1991 and ERMartin; author alert: MKay09 and kankananime123; and Favorite author: MKay09 and kankananime123! You guys are wonderful!**

* * *

Christiana made her way to the Atrium, not really sure what it was that got her called her up there in the first place.

"CHRISSY!" Christiana jumped when she heard her name squealed and then she laughed loudly as Julie came running up to her, blond hair flying. She threw herself into the older girl's arms. "Happy Birthday! I've missed you sis!"

Christiana laughed again. "Is it Easter break already?"

"Time flies when you're distracted, you know?" Julia said with a smirk. "Speaking off how is your distraction?"

Christiana blushed. This was so not the place to discuss Sirius . . . or, as Julia knew him, Corvus. "Did you come here to stand in the Atrium all day?"

Julia scoffed. "Of course not. Come on. I'm taking you out to lunch."

* * *

"Oh Julia. It's beautiful."

Julia beamed at her sister from across the table at the Leaky Cauldron as her engagement ring was admired. Christiana wouldn't say it aloud, of course, but she was a little jealous that her younger sister would be getting married before her. She'd support her of course, help pay for whatever needed paying for and she'd fulfill the duties of a doting bridesmaid.

"Isn't it the best?" Julia asked, obviously excited. "I wasn't going to say yes yet but Will can be very persuasive."

"Please, I really don't want to hear the details."

Julia giggled, leaning back in her seat. She gazed softly at her sister. "You seem different, sis."

Christiana leaned back also, flicking her hair over her shoulder. "Different how?"

"Well, first off, your hair. You never wore your hair down before. And you dyed it? Why gray?"

Christiana fingered a lock of gray hair, frowning. Her hair was annoyingly streaked now, visibly noticeable. In another week's time her whole head would be gray. "It's a side-effect from a spell," she lied. When Julia frowned, she smiled again. "I swear! I wouldn't dye my hair in a million years. Especially not gray."

Julia still looked suspicious but she nodded, taking a sip of her butterbeer. "But it's not just your hair. It's _you_. You seem happier and freer and – what is that?"

"What is what?"

"That! That on your neck!"

Christiana's heart froze. In her attempt to distract her sister from her hair, she had drawn her attention to something else entirely.

The other girl gasped loudly and dramatically. "Is that a hickey?"

Christiana tried to pull her hair back by her face. "What? Of course not! It's not a –"

But then Julia was on her side of the table then, pulling back her hair and the collar of the shirt she had worn under her robes. Julia gasped again. "It is! It's a hickey! And – oh my gosh, Christiana! Is that a tattoo?"

Julia looked up into her sister's eyes, her own wide and amazed. "Who are you and what have you done with my Chrissy?"

"Will you stop it?" Christiana whispered. "You're causing a scene."

"It's Corvus isn't it? Has he got you Imperius'd or something? I swear I'll murder him if he's hurt you. I'll –"

"No, no! Geez, Julia calm down! It's nothing like that!"

Julia took a deep breath, steeling herself. "So explain it to me. Isn't he like your boss or something? Are you even allowed to do that, whatever it is your doing?"

Christiana smiled. "When did you become the older sister?"

"Obviously around the same time when you decided to hook up with random guys and get tattoos."

"It's just one tattoo. And – and he's not so random, you know."

Julia shook her head, sighing. Finally a bright grin came to her face. "So . . . ?"

Christiana blushed now. "So what?"

"So what happened? I mean, hickeys like that whopper don't just fall out of the sky."

"It just sort of happened." Christiana's face was on fire but she smiled slyly. "He's a really, really good kisser."

Julia squealed, bouncing in her seat. "Hold that thought. I'm going to get us some more butterbeer. I want to know everything!"

"That's gross," Christiana called after her, she smiled though, her sister's excitement contagious.

Ouch.

She had a pain suddenly, starting at her temple.

Ow.

The pain spread. Soon her whole head was hurting. Christiana lifted her hands to her head. It felt as if someone was stabbing her repeatedly.

She whimpered as the pain spread to the rest of her body. She stood up and the room spun.

"Chrissy?"

She caught a glimpse of her sister's worried face, two mugs of butterbeer in her hands before she feel to the ground.

Glass broke. Julia appeared above her, screaming. "Chrissy! Someone help! Help!"

* * *

"Ow, ow, ow, hot!"

Sirius dropped the pan on top of the oven, peering at it. The rolls were slightly burnt. He hoped they still taste right. He had never cooked before, not really. That was usually up to the house-elves.

He wasn't sure why he was doing all this. All he knew is that he wanted Chris's twenty-first birthday to feel special. He had even set the table and had tulips (which Chris had once mentioned as her favorite flower) and candles at the ready. Tonight had to be perfect.

Sirius sighed, bending down to check the ham in the oven. Christiana was beautiful and unique and . . . Sirius smirked, a great kisser. As corny as it sounded, he had never felt this way before about any girl. He might have said that once or twice to keep them around but this time it felt real. He hoped that after all this business with his reinstatement was over they could maybe, well, continue.

The lift sounded. Sirius jerked up. What? She wasn't supposed to be home for another couple of hours! He wasn't even dressed yet.

The lift clicked to a stop and he heard a girl's voice, mumbling about Apparating as she frantically hurried to unlock the gates. Sirius ran over, sliding open the metal doors. "Uh, hi. Julia right?"

The blond looked up at him, tears running down her face. Pulling her wand from her pocket she pressed against the lock, grabbing a hold of the gate and pushing it open. "You have to come quick."

"What's wrong? What happened?"

"It's Chrissy," Julia said, shaking her head. "I-I-I don't know what it is. She just sort of passed out. I didn't who else to come to."

Sirius grabbed his jacket from the back of the chair. "Take me to her."

* * *

It was only an act of Merlin that Sirius managed to get up to through St. Mungo's without someone recognizing him. He had stayed quiet when Julia told the Welcome Witch that they were both family, had kept his face down as they walked through the hallways up to the Spell Damage wing.

When Sirius walked into her room she was sitting up, putting her shoes on. "Hey," she said smiling when she saw him.

"What do you think you're doing?" Sirius asked.

"Uh." She looked over to her sister who was watching the both of them. "Jules could you give us a minute?"

The younger girl hesitated but she nodded going back out the door and closing it. Christiana looked back to Sirius, shaking her head. "I can't stay here."

"What do you mean?" Sirius walked closer to her. "Julia says you passed out. We don't know what's wrong with you. You could have a concussion or something."

"Whatever's wrong with me can't be fixed in the Hospital. It's an Unspeakable problem. Besides, I'm feeling better already."

Sirius grabbed her arm gently. "I'm worried about you."

"I'm fine, Sirius. Really. Can you just take me home, please?"

* * *

That was how the two of them ended up back at the flat. Julia, being reassured by her sister and knowing that she was in good hands, went home, making sure Christiana would swear to call her in the morning when she woke up, no matter what time, just to be sure that she woke up. Sirius unlocked the door to the flat and let her in. "Some birthday, huh?" he asked wearily.

"It started out fantastic," Christiana started but then she stopped. "Oh, geez, Sirius."

She walked forward, picking up one of the tulips. "I'm sorry. Everything's ruined. If I had known –"

"What you wouldn't have passed out and went to the hospital?" Sirius said with a wry smile. "Right. You're brilliant, Chris, but I don't think you could have predicted that."

"Oh ha ha." Sirius grinned. There was the sarcastic girl he knew. Maybe she wasn't so sick after all. He smiled softly as she walked towards him. "Thank you. For the thought at least."

"My pleasure. Come on, I'm taking you to bed. Not like that!" he added when she looked up at him, surprised. "You need to sleep before Julia shows up and kills me."

"But I'm not tired," she complained as he dragged her to her room. "And it's my birthday! Shouldn't I be able to choose what I do?"

"You can tomorrow after you get some sleep," he told her, pulling back the covers. He turned back to the girl who was pouting by the door. "Come on."

Groaning she pushed herself away from the door frame, arms crossed. She looked up at Sirius with sad brown eyes and he smiled.

"Happy Birthday, Chris." Leaning down, he pressed a kiss against her lips that started off sweet and simple but then turned into something else completely. Her hands gripped the front of his shirt while his wrapped around her waist, pulling her closer to him. He broke away first, reluctantly. "You've just got out of the hospital. You should be resting."

"I'm as fit as anyone else."

"Oh I believe you. But still –"

"Sirius either you're going to snog me or you're going to keep making excuses. Which one would you prefer?"

Sirius grinned at her. "You make a convincing argument."

He kissed her again, fiercely and passionately. The tulip dropped to the floor as they clumsily fell back onto the bed. Sirius hand played against her waist before sliding under her stomach, resting on bare skin. Christiana gasped against his mouth again and he stopped, gazing down at her. She was absolutely radiant, he thought, her face flushed, her hair wild, and her eyes half-lidded with passion.

"We could stop," he said, his voice shaking. Merlin he didn't want to stop but this wasn't normal for her and he didn't want to scare her. If this was to be her first time, if _he_ was to be her first, than he wanted it to be special.

Her response was a smile as she pushed his hair away from his face and kissed him again.

She was special.

* * *

**A/N: Lol I'm sure you can imagine the rest. I can't believe this story only has like three more chapters! I hope you guys liked it so far! See you next time!**


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

**A/N: Hello to new Favorite Story readers: Psycho-Bunny 1309 and Miss Easy Peasy; and story alerts: NightTeen, Gamble With Desire and Nevergonnafitin. You guys are great!**

* * *

Christiana woke up again but she didn't want to open her eyes, not yet. She felt completely and totally at peace with everything.

Last night (and all today, really) was . . . wow.

If she had known . . . boy, if she had known.

Hands down, that had been the best birthday present ever.

They had been in bed all day. She never did this and it was so relaxing. She shifted, lying on her back. Next to her Sirius shifted too, his palm on her tattooed shoulder now as he traced the butterfly again. She smiled softly. "Hi."

Sirius pressed a kiss against the space between the base of her neck and her shoulder, just above her collar bone, as he threw his arm across her waist. "Hey."

Finally, she opened her eyes, meeting his which were gazing at her in a lazy and satisfied type of way. His hair was a mess, frizzy and wild, adorable. "What time is it?"

"Who cares."

Christiana laughed. "I do. I have to get to work."

Sirius groaned. "Why? Couldn't you stay here? We've already been here all day. We could just lay here in bed some more and – and well, other things, possibly."

"As tempting as that sounds, it's been more than two days. If I don't check in soon, I'll get fired." Sirius groaned again as she crawled out of bed pulling the comforter with her. Her body was sore, but in a incredibly good way and she couldn't help but smile. "What should I wear?"

"What you have on now is great."

Christiana rolled her eyes catching sight of her alarm clock. "Oh geez! I can't believe it's nearly eight! Olana is going to kill me!"

Sirius watched his girl (oh wow that sounded nice) dash around her room, into the bathroom where the shower ran for maybe seven minutes before she was back again, stumbling into a pair of jeans and a t-shirt and grabbing her robes and running for the kitchen to get her purse. She was absolutely wonderful.

"Did you want to go get something to eat before you have to get to work?" Sirius asked as he got out of bed, grabbing his clothes and putting them on. "Chris?"

There was a thump and he rushed out of the room. "Chris!"

The girl lay out on the floor, her hair splayed out around her face. Sirius ran forward, hopping over her form so that he was in front of her. He lifted her up, pushing her hair out her face.

She was breathing funny, in short, weak gasps, her eyes glazed over. "This – was – unexpected."

"Chris," Sirius said. "Chris, come on talk to me. What's happening? Why is this happening?"

Christiana swallowed, the effort looking painful. "I – I have a theory."

"What? What is it?"

"This – my hair, my lack of strength – this all started a-a-after I pulled you from the Veil. Since you've been getting your memories back, I've been getting weaker. I've been giving myself to you."

"What do you mean?"

She shook her head. "As you gain life, I lose mine."

Sirius stared at the weak girl in his arms in shock. _He was doing this to her_? "This is my fault."

"No," Christiana gasped. "No, it's not."

"It is. . . . But I'm going to fix it." Sirius pulled his wand from his pocket, casting a Disillusionment Charm over the two of them before slipping in arm under her knees and behind her back, lifting her up.

Grabbing the Floo power, he sent them straight to the Ministry.

* * *

_No._

It was the only coherent thing she could say but her mind was wild as Sirius stepped through into the Ministry. She pried her eyes open against the pain. There weren't that many people here, but there hardly ever was around this time.

_No._

She couldn't let Sirius do this! He was going to – well what exactly, she didn't know but she knew it was bad and dangerous and stupid.

Before she could protest further, they were hopping on the lifts.

* * *

Sirius held Christiana tight in his arms as the lift moved down to the Department of Mysterious. She continued to mumble in his arms, her head lolling back and forth. The only word he could make out was 'No'.

If he recalled, he turned here and then – crap. Maybe it was the other way?

"Hang on, Chris," he muttered.

Pulling open a door, he ended up in a circular room. The room spun and Sirius tried to pull his mind straight. His arms were starting to ache; Christiana wasn't heavy but he had been holding her for a long time now. "Veil!" he called out.

The room stopped spinning, the door he guessed he wanted appearing in front of him. He jogged down a short hallway, until he reached his destination. The Veil shimmered at the bottom of the stone steps.

"This is wrong!" he called, trying to carefully move down the steps. "I shouldn't be here! I died six years ago but Christiana should still be alive! There has to be something we can do!"

Nothing happened.

Sirius reached the bottom of the steps, kneeling in front of the Veil and lying Christiana's limp form in front of him. What had Christiana done to get through? He didn't want to just walk in. That could possibly kill them both. Christiana's eyes were open but unseeing. Panicking, he lifted her up and pressed his ear against her chest, just faintly hearing her heartbeat.

What was he supposed to do? What could he do? His throat and eyes burned as he placed his hand against her pale cheek. "Come on Chris. You're stronger than this. You can't die. Please, wake up."

Her hand, which had been clenched to the front of his shirt, fell to the ground.

"Chris. Chris!" Sirius shook her slightly. This time he really couldn't help the tears that fell from his eyes. "Please, don't do this! Please, don't leave! I love you!"

The words poured from him as free as his tears, full of honesty and raw emotion that he hadn't felt in a long time. But he meant it. Merlin did he mean it. He was so into this girl that it hurt. He loved the way she laughed, loved the way she was still a stickler for some things, loved the way she smiled at him endearingly when he did something incredibly stupid, loved the way she wiggled her toes in her pink and yellow striped toe socks, loved the feel of her lips against his and the way they just seemed to fit together like missing pieces of a puzzle. He couldn't lose that!

But still, Christiana didn't move. He held her against him, crying against her neck.

A brush of wind ruffled his hair.

Looking up, he saw the Veil had gone completely and totally black. Was this what he had been waiting for?

Wiping his eyes, Sirius slipped his arms underneath Christiana, lifting her up again. He wasn't ashamed to admit he was scared. He could very well die . . . again. Looking down at Christiana again, he stilled his resolve –

And stepped through the Veil.

* * *

Christiana came back to herself, taking a deep gasping breath of air.

Where was she? What happened? What was going on?

Where was Sirius?

She twisted and turned in utter darkness before struck by a blinding white light. Once more, she had the feeling of flight before the white light disappeared and her vision was filled with the stone steps.

Christiana screamed, covering her face. Her wrist snapped beneath her but she barely felt the pain as she rolled.

Sitting up quickly, she took a hold of her surroundings. With her good hand, she grabbed a lock of her hair and pulled it around to her face. No gray.

He had done it. Sirius had actually fixed it. "Sirius," she muttered.

She turned around, facing the Veil . . . but this time, there was no one there with her. "Sirius!"

He was gone. He was gone for real this time. There was no way to get him back without repeating this cycle, killing herself again. But she couldn't to shout his name until her already sore throat could produce nothing but a croak.

Christiana cried then, large, heavy tears because she didn't know what else to do. She knew she had made a mistake. She had told herself over and over that this was a bad idea but she hadn't listen and the proof was there.

"I love you."

She had heard him say it, heard him scream it, and now she said it back, too little, too late. All this time, Christiana thought she was helping him, thought she was bringing him back to life. But in the end, it was him. He had only been missing his memories. Sirius Black had enough life to light an entire building and he gave some to her, brought her back from the dull existence she had chosen to life. With him she had been alive and she felt vibrant and fun and beautiful. God, she loved him – _had_ loved him.

"I love you."

Suddenly the room filled with a bright white light, as blinding as it had been inside the Veil. Christiana stood as a silhouette was framed in that light, walking forward. A hand stretched out, followed by an arm, a foot, a leg, and soon a torso.

Christiana let out a strangled laugh.

Sirius stumbled forward, collapsing to the ground. The light vanished and everything was as it had been. She rushed to him, falling to her knees beside him, still crying but now she was laughing, shocked and at lost for words.

Sirius looked up at her, his eyes barely open but he saw her and smiled, weakly lifting a hand to place it against her cheek. "What happened?"

Christiana laughed again because for once she actually didn't have a theory to explain something.

And to be frank, she really didn't care.

* * *

**A/N: I hope you guys liked that. Sadly, this is swiftly coming to an end :-( Imma miss this story. See you next time though.**


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer: Not mine!**

**A/N: Hello to favorite story readers: kat183! You're Awesome!**

* * *

"Patient responds to physical stimuli."

"Obviously."

Christiana rolled her eyes at Sirius who was smirking at her. This was definitely different from when they had first fallen out of the Veil what felt like ages ago. Yes, they had definitely come a long way. She smiled at him, softly, and he returned it for a second before it fell.

"I don't want to do this," he said, shaking his head.

Christiana's smile fell also and she checked behind her. The door to her office was closed, thankfully. "Me either," she told him.

Sirius pulled her into his arms, resting his face into the crook of her neck. "Then don't. Please? Don't do it."

"I can't. It would be against the rules."

"To hell with the rules. You've been breaking them this far."

"Not with this, Sirius." Tears came to Christiana's eyes. She absolutely hated crying. It made her look all red and splotchy and her eyes looked swollen. She felt so ridiculous, fanning her hands in front of her face

But she hated this more. Hated the fact that she had to erase Sirius's memory because of Department regulation LB-2-C: All persons leaving the Department permanently shall have their memories erased of all Department secrets/business in order to preserve the mystery that is the Department itself.

If she didn't do this, Olana would. There was no escaping it.

Sirius gently grabbed her hands now, gazing into her eyes. "What's going to happen?"

Christiana sniffed. "I'll Obliviate you, erasing all memories of the past four months and you'll –"

"No, Chris. I mean, what's going to happen to us?"

Christiana shook her head. "I don't know."

"Will you come find me? I think it'd be easy to fall in love with you again . . . I'm sure of it."

Christiana smiled at him, sadly. "I don't think I'll be able to."

"What do you mean?"

Instead of answering, Christiana leaned forward, kissing him. She felt Sirius place his hands on her hips and tears came to her eyes again. She reached out her hand, her finger tips brushing against her wand.

She moved back, gazing at Sirius, the one guy she had ever fallen in love with. "I'm sorry."

Sirius nodded, closing his eyes.

"_Obliviate._"

* * *

"Coming!" Harry cried, rushing to the front door. Quickly he pulled it open. "Hey! Chrissy!"

Christiana smiled at him. "Hello, Harry."

To say he was surprised was an understatement. Not that he wasn't happy to see Christiana but he was so used to her being in Sirius's tow that seeing her here now, by herself, was random in a sort. She must have realized this because she said, "I'm sorry to come by uninvited."

" No, no it's fine. What's up?"

"Here." Christiana held out a piece of parchment, which Harry took, confused. "It's an article that will be coming out tomorrow, about Sirius. You'll be able to go and get him from St. Mungo's tomorrow also."

"So – everything's over?" Harry asked.

"Yes. Everything's over."

Harry grinned then. "I can't thank you enough, Chrissy, for everything. Is there anyway I could repay you back?"

"Well, there is." Christiana reached into her pocket and pulled out another letter. "I'm quitting."

"You – you're quitting?"

"Yes. I'm leaving the Department of Mysteries. They'll erase my memories and send me packing. However – well you see I wasn't supposed to let you or Teddy see Sirius. We were never supposed to have met, but . . . but Teddy's so young. I wouldn't want to erase his memories, not when they are so important to him and I've enjoyed your time so much. I was hoping – well, here. . . ." She handed him the second of piece of parchment. "This is a letter to myself. It explains to me that I know you from school and a story of how we met (feel free to read it) and gives me an explanation of how I lost my memory without revealing anything about the Department. I'll be working at St. Mungo's so you can find me there. I would really like to continue my friendship with you and Teddy and maybe even Ginny."

"I can do that," Harry said, nodding. "I'll definitely do that. But – but what about Sirius?"

Christiana looked down, smiling softly. "I don't know, honestly."

She cleared her throat, looking up again, holding out her hand. "It was really nice getting to meet you, Harry, and I genuinely enjoyed our time together even if most of that time was business related."

Harry smiled at her outstretched hand before gently wrapping his arms around her in an almost awkward hug. "We'll see you soon."

They let go, Christiana blushing as she waved goodbye, walking away from the house.

* * *

"You're sure about this?"

Christiana nodded. "Very sure. You'll find all my notes in that folder though I don't recommend anyone trying to enter the Veil again. It isn't safe. I only managed to survive based on a fluke."

Olana stared at the young girl sadly. "If this is what you want, dear. You understand –"

"That my memories will be erased? Yes, I do and I'm alright with that. I've already gotten set up to take a position at St. Mungo's. I'll be working with kids."

"And I know how much you'll love that." Olana smiled softly. "I feel as if I've watched you grow, Christiana. You're a brilliant and amazing girl. I'm surely going to miss you."

Both women stood, meeting around the desk to hug. Leaning back, Olana picked up her wand. "You ready?"

Christiana nodded. This was best. She cherished her memories, every single one, but this was what counted if she wanted her happiness.

Smiling one last time at her boss, Christiana closed her eyes.

"_Obliviate_."

* * *

**SIRIUS BLACK, PARDONED CRIMINAL AWAKENS FROM COMA**

_Sirius Black, pardoned criminal, awakens from a seven year coma. Sirius Black entered the coma during the Battle of the Ministry of Magic, in the Department of Mysteries. _

_After the Battle, an Unspeakable (who shall remain unnamed) found Black unconscious in one of their many chambers. Which chamber exactly and what it contained is unknown and the Unspeakables had no comment._

"_We're very happy," Harry Potter, Black's God Son and the Savior of the Wizarding world told this reporter with tears in his eyes. "As soon as he's released from the hospital, we'll be taking him home so that he can get back on his feet."_

_The only thing that remains a mystery is that Black, as a St. Mungo official informed us, seems to have, for lack of a better word, "de-aged" by at least a decade, making the man now twenty-two years old, soon to be twenty-three. _

_This reporter asks how? Will the Department of Mysteries ever reveal its many mysteries? This reporter aims to find out._

_Written by: Rita Skeeter_

* * *

**A/N: Gosh, one more chapter! I hope you guys liked this story and I'll see you next time.**


	18. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

**A/N: Hello to Favorite story readers: .; Story Alert readers: . and ! You guys are superb and I hope everyone enjoys the last chapter**

* * *

Julia watched her sister flit around the kitchen, confusion on her face. Not that she didn't enjoy seeing her sister happy by this was just weird. She seemed so – carefree.

It just seemed weird! She was gone for school, staying in her new place with Will and she comes back to find her sister has quit the Department and had been training at the ministry. Why? She wasn't sure but her sister was always smiling now and she never brought up the ministry, as if it didn't even exist.

"Are you alright?" Julia asked.

"Never better," Christiana told her, grinning. "Why?"

"No reason. I – I just feel like I've been out of the loop lately."

"Well wedding planning is busy work, you know?"

"Right. Speaking of, you're still going with me to dress shop tomorrow right?"

"Right. Ginny and I are coming as soon as I get off work."

"Work. At St. Mungo's."

"Yes St. Mungo's, the same place I've been working for the last four years."

Not a thing. She didn't remember a thing.

Julia picked up the newspaper. The article that had been bugging her since it first came out. "So Sirius Black huh?"

"I know isn't that amazing?" Christiana said with a smile. "Harry was so excited when that article came out. Teddy didn't get it but I'm sure he'll catch on once he gets to know his cousin."

Right. This sudden buddy-buddy relationship she had with The Harry Potter and his wife Ginny. Of course, Julia was automatically included but it was still so very random. "How did you meet Harry again?"

"I've told you. He brought Teddy to the hospital one day (you know the boy's a metamorphous, always messing around and getting stuck) and would you believe I couldn't remember him? I mean, how do you forget meeting Harry Potter of all people? But I guess I met him and Teddy before that stupid accident at work. You remember right? The one that knocked me out a couple of months back. Thank goodness I was lucid enough to write a letter to myself. I gave it to Harry for safe keeping."

"Right." Well, let's try one more thing, shall we? "Well, doesn't Sirius Black kind of remind you of Corvus Brown?"

"Corvus Brown?" Christiana turned to her sister then, nose crinkled. "Who's Corvus Brown?"

"The guy you let stay in your house for a while."

"Guy I let –" Christiana approached her sister, placing the back of her hand against Julia's forehead. "Are you feeling alright, sis? Maybe you should come with me to the hospital."

She had planned all of this, Julia realized. Her sister was just too freaking smart for her own good sometimes. Absolutely ridiculous. She had done all this and hadn't even told her. Leave it to Christiana.

Julia smiled brightly. "No I'm fine! It must have been someone else I knew. I've got to get going!"

She stood, kissing her cheek. "Have a good day at St. Mungo's. Where you work."

Julia hurried to the lift, leaving Christiana standing confused. Though a lot more was confusing . . . like the pink and yellow striped toe socks she now owned and the pink and purple stuffed elephant and bunny that sat on her dresser.

* * *

**Six Months Later**

Sirius Black stared out the window to the street. He could hear Harry and Teddy laughing in the background. Ginny had gone out with little James to meet with a friend, Julia something or other.

Meanwhile, Sirius was feeling lost. It had been six months since he got out of the hospital. Snow landed on the ground and Christmas coming soon. He should have been happy to be alive, happy that he was with his new family even if all his friends were gone. He still had Harry and now Teddy.

He couldn't stay at Grimmuald Place forever though. It was starting to get to him again. But it was weird to go outside and not have people look at him like he was a criminal. They actually smiled and waved and it should have been welcomed, _was_ welcomed but it was strange all the same.

However. . . .

He was having dreams, albeit incredibly weird dreams. Dreams about socks, strawberry-blonde hair, and dancing to the Sex Pistols. These dreams always took place in weird places too like his jail cell at Azkaban or, the weirdest, a carnival. But the thing that bugged him most about his dreams was the eyes: a beautiful set of brown eyes that were always laughing and smiling and just wonderful. Who did those eyes belong to?

"Oh. Oh crap."

Sirius walked in the direction of the playroom where Harry and Teddy were. "What happened?"

Harry sighed, turning the little boy in Sirius's direction. Sirius smiled at the beak that was now Teddy's mouth and nose. The little boy quacked, his eyes alight with a smile. "He's stuck again. I'll have to take him to the hospital before Ginny gets home."

Harry stood, his hand on Teddy's shoulder, but suddenly he stopped, looking thoughtful. When he looked up, he was smiling. "Well, maybe you could take him."

"Me?"

"Yeah! Give you two a chance to bond and get you out of the house for a while. Don't think I haven't noticed you've been moping, just like before."

"You'd have been moping too if you had been stuck here."

"Yeah well you're not stuck here this time. You're free to go out and do whatever! So how about you take Teddy to St. Mungo's."

Sirius sighed. "Okay, fine."

"Great! When you get there, go up to the fifth floor. Ask for Healer Anderson; Teddy knows her and she'll be able to help you."

"Alright. Come on, kid!" The five-year-old jumped up and down, quacking before hopping onto Sirius's back. Sirius looked over at Harry as they headed towards the fireplace. "We'll be back soon."

Harry grinned. "Take your time."

* * *

Seconds later, Sirius and Teddy were on the lift to the fifth floor of St. Mungo's like Harry directed. "You know who we're looking for right?" Sirius asked.

Teddy nodded excitedly and the lift pulled to a stop. The doors opened, revealing a large, round, brightly colored playroom. Toys scattered the floor in front of the many children's rooms that lined the wall. Sirius had never been up here before and was surprised by how quiet it was.

That was when he noticed all the kids sitting on the floor in front of a rocking chair, eyes rapt with attention. A woman was reading to them now, her voice changing to match the characters.

"'And someone's been sleeping in my bed'," she said in a tiny voice. "'And they're still here!'"

She held the book so the kids could see the pictures. Grinning she asked, "Now how many of you have ever been woken up by three bears? Me neither! Can you guess what Goldilocks did when she saw them?"

"She ran!" called a little girl.

"Let's see, Crystal." She turned the page. " 'Goldilocks woke up and was so startled by the three bears! She gave a scream, hopping from the bed and –' You know what she did? '—right out the window!'"

The kids laughed at the picture, the woman smiling. "That's the end of our story time. You guys are free to go play."

She stood and the kids ran off, picking up the forgotten toys. Teddy broke free from Sirius running forward and crashing into the woman from behind. "Oh! Hey Teddy!"

The woman finally turned full around and Sirius couldn't help but stare.

Brown eyes.

"You got stuck again?" the girl asked, smiling softly, kneeling. "Alright, close your eyes and say 'Ah'!"

Teddy did so, though his 'Ah' sounded funny. She ran her finger down the top of his beak, tickling his stomach. Teddy quacked and with a pop his nose and mouth were back to normal. "Thanks Chrissy!"

She finally looked up, her eyes catching Sirius's. "Hello Mr. Black," she said with a smile.

"You – You know me?"

"Well, you were only in the _Daily Prophet_ for three weeks straight." She stood straight, walking to him with her hand outstretched. "Christiana Anderson."

"Chrissy, you remember Sirius!" the little boy argued but he was distracted, running off to play with the other kids.

Sirius, trying to stop gaping at her, shook her hand. Looking down, he saw that she was barefoot. . . . and wearing pink and yellow stripped toe-socks. He smiled, albeit a shaky smile. "Nice to meet you, Chris."

Christiana smiled, tilting her head. "Have we met before?"

Sirius almost said yes but he stopped. He barely remembered her, but he knew he knew her. It was there on the edge of his mind but he shook his head. "No, I don't think we have. But – but Teddy goes on about you a lot. Says your amazing."

"Oh he's just being modest," she said, her smile widening. "Uh, can I have my hand back?"

"Oh." Sirius let go of her hand, blushing. "Sorry."

Christiana giggled. "Well, I – I guess I better get back to work."

"Right. We better be heading home too. Teddy!" The little boy, hearing his name came running over. He threw his arms around Christiana's legs before taking Sirius's hand. "Suppose we'll see you around."

"Yeah, see you." Sirius smiled at her, feeling like a total idiot as they made their way to the lift. "Uh Sirius?"

He turned back around. Christiana's cheeks were blushed slightly pink and now she looked nervous. "I don't normally do this but, er, I get off work around seven. Would you – would you maybe like to go get something to eat or something."

Sirius grinned. "Yeah. Yeah definitely."

"Alright." Christiana smiled back, her cheeks still pink. "I'll see you then."

"See you." Sirius waved at her awkwardly before stepping onto the lift.

She was still smiling at him as the doors closed.

Things were definitely looking up.

* * *

**A/N: Hope you guys liked this story. I had a lot of fun writing it! Thanks every one for reading and reviewing! You guys rock. Look for my continuing story: The Little Things That Matter starring George Weasley and Luna Lovegood. **


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